Magical Life
by Kahylxn
Summary: Miu Nanami was a girl who lost her parents at the age of nine. With her parents and foster father dead, how will she live alone now? When Miu learns about how her foster father was linked to Dialete, she learns that there's more to her existence.
1. New Beginnings

"NO!"

There was a mother that had to protect her child, so she did what she had to do.

"DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE!"

The mother just smiled back at her daughter for one last time, and accepted her fate.

"NOOO!"

Suddenly, everything went dark.

One eye was open, then two.

"Ugh..." groaned an awakening girl.

"Hello dear. From this day onward, I shall be your new family! Sadly, your mom happened to die when you were four and your dad died, learning that your mom died. Don't worry! I'll take good care of you, yes?" stated a stranger holding onto a cup of tea.

"Wai...Wait a minute. How do you know my past?" mumbled the girl as she tried to gain her energy to get up, but ended up failing and plopping on the soft couch once again.

"Oh, no need to worry about that Miu!" the man replied as he smiled at the sleeping girl.

"You be able to live a happy life at last," whispered the man as he quietly opened the door and left the girl inside the room with nothing but a couch.


	2. A Fresh Start

"Um, father?" asked Miu, as she peeked through her dad's room and watched him read a newspaper.

"Yes?" replied her dad, as he flipped through pages and rapidly reading each detail. He finally paused and looked up at his daughter. Miu's hair was waist-length with the color of dreamy brown. Her eyes looked almost exactly like her mother's, big and cute brown eyes. Her eyelashes were almost like her mother's too, mid-length and perfect. Her lips were the color of light pink. The dad smiled, as he knew he raised his daughter the best way he could afford.

Miu got impatient and decided to tell her father the good news.

"Guess what father?" she asked, hoping he would guess the right answer.

"What is it Miu?" answered her father. Wow, you have no idea, Miu thought as a smiled appeared on her peachy face.

"I got into Suiren High School!" Miu shouted, as she clapped her hands to congratulate herself. Her father just stared at her, dropped the newspaper, and smiled just as brightly as her.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet daughter! Congratulations!" said Miu's father, as he embraced her in his arms. "I knew you'd do it! Where's your uniform?"

"Oh, I nearly forgot!" Miu giggled, feeling the pride as her father praised her. "I'll be right back!" With that, Miu rushed back to her room. The room was painted lilac, with a fluffy bed. The pillows were those casual ones, with a white pillow cover and the bed sheets were the same, white covers. The bookcase was next to the window, which was next to her bed. There was also a white-and-purple striped carpet right under the door. Miu's closet was in the right corner, while all the other stuff was on the left. Her closet was a basic Japanese closet: a small brown cabinet with a hook to hook her clothes, and four drawers under it for her other clothes. Miu hummed a cherry blossom tune as she slipped on her uniform shirt and climbed in it's skirt.

"There, all finished!" Miu said happily, as she examined the uniform. It was a basic uniform: yellow skirt with pink tie, for the girls, and blue for the boys, and a pink plaid shirt. When she was done checking out her new uniform, she rushed back to her father's room. It was painted white with a single-person bed and a simple closet with no carpet. The floor was hardwood wood, just like Miu's. As she headed for the front door, she looked back.

"Dad! I'll be going now! Wish me luck!" declared Miu, as she quickly snatched a freshly toasted toast and put on her brown basic school shoes. She grabbed her leather backpack as she rushed for the door.

"Good luck Miu! Go for it!" cheered on her father, as he looked up from the newspaper and give her a double thumbs up. She smiled brightly and stepped out the door.

Today, I, Miu Nanami, shall succeed throughout the entire school year at Suiren High School. From this day forward, I'll try my best!


	3. New Problems

One step inside Suiren High School. Then two.

Miu Nanami flashed a glance at her new school. It was like a regular Japanese high school: sliding doors, lockers, windows on the left, people chattering and gossiping. As Miu stared at all of this, she tried to make friends. She noticed a group of girls talking to each other and holding onto their phones. A shaking smile appeared on Miu's face as she approached the group

"H-Hi! I-I'm new here and I-I thought we could be friends?" Miu asked, trying her best to not run away. She was very shy, and that was a disadvantage whenever she enter the first day of school. The girls just stared at her as if she was asking them to be friends with her, the new girl. Every single girl in that group had long, shimmering hair. Two had brown, one was yellow, three were black.

"Hm.. are you sure? We're pretty popular around here.. If you want to be friends with us, you're going to have to show us what you got," said the leader of the group. Her name was Arise Kakumi. She had very long black hair and fair skin. She was kind of like those princesses presented in Disney. When she finished examining Miu, she smirked. So did the entire group. They all stared at Miu with beady eyes. Miu started at shake and finally snapped.

She ran away from the group with fresh tears streaming down her flustered cheeks. When she ran towards her homeroom, fell on her seat. Her classroom was A-2 and her seat was in the very corner withthe window right next to it. As Miu laid her head on the cold, brown tabletop, she covered her face with her arms and silently wept to herself. Knock, knock. Miu suddenly looked up, forgetting to wipe her eyes before showing to anyone else. There was a handsome boy staring right at her.

It was Kai. When Miu stared at him, she looked around the classroom and saw other girls pointing at her and whispering about something. Miu looked back at the boy and tried to ignore him by putting her face back on the tabletop.

"Wait-," breathed Kai, as he tried to stop Miu from planting her face back on the table,"Are you Miu Nanami? The new girl?" Kai was absolutely stunning. He had short, black hair. His eyes were sky blue, as though he grabbed some of the sky itself and formed his eyes with it. His skin was a light tan and his outfit was like Miu's. Except the tie was blue. And his bottom were plaid plants. When Miu was done staring at his appearance, she slowly nodded.

"Oh! Want me to show you around the school? Don't worry, everyone here is friendly!" replied Kai, as he reached out for her hand. He hanged his hand in front of Miu's brown eyes, so she could clearly see them. Miu looked up and stared at his smile. She blushed a light shade of red. When Kai noticed Miu blushing, he looked away to hide his blush too. Oh my gosh, thought Kai, Miu's more beautiful than ever. He turned back and felt another hand touch his. He stared down and noticed Miu looking down while her gentle and rested on his. He smiled slowly, and grabbed her gently up from her seat. Miu quickly glanced at the other girls and saw them giving her the thumbs down and loser sign on the forehead. Oh no, thought Miu as she followed Kai out of the classroom, I'm already making.. making enemies! She quickly turned away from the other girls and looked forward. No, Miu thought, I'm a strong girl and... I will make friends!

When the two students reached the courtyard, Kai suddenly pulled Miu towards the gap between two buildings so nobody woud be suspicious. When he checked the corridors, they were clear. He sighed and slowly let go of Miu's hand. When he turned to face Miu, he saw tears plastered on her angelic face and felt a sharp pain through his heart.

"Miu, what's wr-" he whispered, putting his hand near her face. Miu just rejected his hand and turned her back on him. "Miu, are you.. crying?" he asked, staring at her shivering back. She nodded and wiped her eyes with her hands.

"I-I saw the other girls.. They were staring at me like I was an enemy. But I promised myself that I would be able to make it throughout the entire school year!" Miu finally let go of the pain and bursted out tears and tried to dry them, but they kept coming down. Kai heard her sniffles and slowly reached his arms out to embrace the shivering little girl. When he was at her waist, he suddenly paused. Miu was facing him now, showing the tears brought out. She slowly smiled while crying, which made Kai want to hug her even more to stop the unbearable pain. "I-I can't stop crying, isn't that funny?" smiled Miu, tears still streaming down. Her smile vanished and she was squatting on her legs to the ground.

"Miu... I-I'm so sorry. Are you one of the shy ones?" questioned Kai, as he bent down at Miu's level.

"Y-Yes- I- really- am," replied Miu, as she stared at him, only one tear still traveling down her cheek. This time, Kai suddenly grabbed Miu's arms and pulled her into an embrace. Miu started to cry all over again, this time, hugging Kai even tighter. Kai hugged Miu even tighter at thought to himself, I am going to help Miu throughout the year, I promise.

What the two students didn't notice was that there was another male student listening to their entire conversation. He closed his eyes, and turned around then headed towards his classroom. A-3.


	4. A Devastating Moment

"Dad! Guess what? My first day of high school at Suiren's was a success!" Miu explained, as she reached out for the house key. She pushed it in, turned it, and slowly opened the door.

"That's odd, why didn't you answer me Da-" she dropped her bag. Because right there, right before her eyes, was her father laying down on the floor with his newspaper in grasp. Miu suddenly reached out for her phone inside her bag and called an ambulance.

"HURRY! I NEED YOUR HELP RIGHT NOW!" Miu frantically replied, trying to prevent her tears from falling down. "MY FATHER IS IN GRAVE DANGER RIGHT NOW! PLEASE!" she hanged up on the phone and waited desperately for the crew to arrive. She already lost her mother, and she wasn't going to lose her father, again. As time flew by, she gently poked her dad's short black hair. He didn't move a muscle. Suddenly, a rapid knock knocked on the front door.

"Open up! This is the ambulance! Open up!" cried a man as he rapidly slammed on the door. Miu reached out for the doorknob and quickly opened the door.

"Please help my father!" she replied, tears shining. "When I got home, I found him like this! PLEASE HELP HIM!" The man nodded and signaled his crew to place Miu's beloved father on a stretcher and carried him inside the ambulance truck. As he truck left the house and towards the hospital, Miu suddenly fell down and clapsed her hands on her face and wept silently.

At this point, Miu Nanami knew her father wasn't going to be all right. Not at all.


	5. A Mysterious Encounter

I hope my father gets well soon, thought Miu Nanami, I never thought I would lose my family again. For a 16 year-old girl, Miu was pretty much in a difficult state. First her mother died, her father following that death, now her second father, Kazuya Nanami. As Miu thought about what her life would be, she leaned and her side and stared outside the window, completely ignoring what her teacher was saying to the class.

Ring! As the bell rang, Miu shot up and quickly packed up her things and shoved them inside her bag. Today, she was going to visit her father at the hospital. As Miu quickly did so, Kai came up to her.

"Um, Miu? Uh, sorry about yesterday.. I got carried away," Kai explained, as Miu continued packing up. When she heard Kai's voice, her face quickly lit up and stared at him.

"Oh yea! You don't know my last name yet, right?" Kai questioned, accepting the stare by Miu. She shook her head, which meant a "no". "Oh, my last name is Sadachi." Kai replied, a bright smile forming on his beautiful face.

"Um, see you later," Miu responded, grabbing her bag and bowed at Kai Sadachi. "I have to visit someone important." She waved goodbye and walked off.

Oh, Kai thought, I wonder who it is? As Kai also packed up his things, another boy appeared before him.

"Hello, are you Kai Sadachi?" the boy asked, a charming smile appearing on his pale skin.

"Who are you?" asked Kai, staring at the mysterious boy. They kept staring at each other, until the mysterious boy looked outside the window, staring at Miu as she cried while running towards the hospital.

"Look," he said, pointing outside the window. Kai followed the finger, and stared in shock.

Oh no, she's crying again.

Why?


	6. A Tragic Thought

As Miu slowly approached the hospital door that leaded her to her doomed father, she took a note writing down the room number: A84. When she was finished jotting down the note, she shoved it in her uniform shirt's pocket, wiped the last steaming tears, and slowly turned on the doorknob and entered the room. She saw a doctor leaving through the door to let the Nanami family have some time together one more time. Miu gasped.

Laying down on the hospital bed was her father. She slowly started to bend down and held onto her father's sickly pale hand.

"Father? Are you alright?" she asked, hands shaking while holding onto the pale hand. Her father just opened his eyes, and weakly turned his head to the right to face his daughter once more.

"M..Miu," her father started, voice starting to disappear. "I.. love.. you.."

"NO! FATHER! PLEASE DON'T SAY THAT! IT SOUNDS LIKE YOUR GOING TO DIE! PLEASE, FATHER! YOUR THE ONLY ONE I HAVE LEFT!" Miu started to scream, losing her senses and weeping uncontrollably by her father's side. When she looked up at meet her father's beautiful eyes once more, all he did was just smile as he gently patted her brown hair. "Please.. Father, please stay with me until I die.. please.." Miu slowly whispered, as she felt his hand stop moving. She quickly looked at his heart rate machine, only noticing it showed a straight line. Miu's eyes suddenly went wide, tears crawling down again. "Fa.. DOCTOR!" Miu frantically panicked, opening the door and calling for the doctor in the hallway. The doctor came running towards her, worksheets in hand. He looked like her father, only he had darker skin and darker hair.

"What happened Miss Nanami?" he asked, staring at her with serious black eyes.

"My-My father.. he.. he.. he.." Miu started, losing her words as her throat choked in tears.

"Oh no.." the doctor quickly ran inside the room, stared at the heart rate, and looked down. "Miss Nanami, I'm sorry to say, but your father... he's gone." He slowly looked up with a sad face, telling Miu that it was all over.

"No.. No.. way.. I thought he was going to stay with me.. forever.. this can't.." Miu started bursting out tears and screamed out mumbled words, hugging her father's lifeless body as he laid there, eyes closed with a pale smile still plastered on his pale face. The doctor slowly walked outside the room, telling the other employees that the dad of Miu Nanami was now dead. "I-I love you too!" Miu whispered, hugging her dad tightly as if he was going to hug her back.

After an hour at the hospital, Miu walked out of the hospital and towards her house, eyes red from crying so much. This can't be it, Miu thought, I thought I was going to have a family at last. There's no way.

It can't be.


	7. A New Reality

As Miu stepped foot once again inside Suiren High School, her legs shook almost every step towards her classroom. Before stepped inside the room, she took a deep breath and slowly walked inside. When she reached her desk, she noticed that, once again, everybody stared at her. Ugh, she thought, why can't these people just let me roam freely without having to have their bright eyes digging into my core? Miu decided to ignore them a placed her backpack beside her desk. When she sat down, Miu placed her right hand under her chin and tilted her head to face outside the window. Well, at least the sun is up, she thought, still thinking about what her life would be like with losing a family, twice.

"Uhm, Miu Nanami, was it?" Kai Sadachi asked. His face was as bright and smiling as ever. Well, at least there's something that brightened up Miu's day. For now.

"Oh.. Kai Sadachi? Yea, hi," Miu replied, her voice completely emotionless. She turned to face him and quickly turned back outside the window.

"Uh, Miu? Is everything okay?" Kai questioned, trying to figure out what happened to her since yesterday.

"Yeah, sure. Everything's fine," Miu answered again. She was slightly annoyed now. Please, she thought, just go away. Run away from me. When she finished thinking about her thoughts, he bell rang. Ring! Everybody started running back to their seats and sat quietly for the teacher to enter. As they waited, an elegant lady stepped inside. Her hair was blond and shaped into a bun. Her lips were covered with a slight shade of red lipstick. She dressed like a business woman, tight purple skirt and ruffled, white shirt with buttons.

"Ahem, hello class!" the woman exclaimed, having the posture of an over-excited girl. "Today, we will be learning about.. drumroll please, poems from our amazing nation!" she was at the point where she was supposed to squeal. Everybody moaned, some even shouted out "Boo!". "Come on everyone. It's not that bad."

"Uhm," Kai raised his hand stiffly. "You didn't tell us your name." His hand slowly went down as he grabbed his pencil and started to write something on a small piece of paper.

"Oh!" the lady said. "Sorry guys, my name is Miss Mazuko. You can call me Miss M!" she explained, opening a book and started to tell everybody the instructions on how to read a poem correctly.

"Psst, Miu!" Kai whispered, tossing a folded little paper onto Miu's desk. Miu quickly glanced at him before gently opening the note. He nodded and she began to open it. It read:

" _Psst, Nanami! Mind if we can meet after school near the back side of the buildings when we had our first hug?"_

Miu almost blushed while reading this. When she turned around, completely forgetting her face was a light shade of red, Kai quickly blushed in reply and turned around to look at the board for notes. Miu slowly smiled a little bit and also faced the chalkboard for her teacher's notes.


	8. A New Friend, Sort Of

When the bell rang for school dismissal, Miu noticed Kai staring at her and blushed. When she suddenly thought of the note, she shoved almost everything inside her backpack to make it on time.

"Um, Miu Nanami?" Kai Sadachi asked, staring at her while she was cramming her books inside her leather, brown bag. Miu quickly glanced at him and continued shoving stuff inside.

"Yea?" she asked, still trying to fix her poembook inside her small bag. When she finished, Miu stood up, pushed in her chair gently, and stood up full length to face Kai.

"I-I was wondering if you wanted to walk over there with.. me?" Kai blushed, reaching out for his bag and quietly shoved things inside. Miu blushed again, this time with the most cute smile she could afford. When Kai finished packing up his stuff, he saw her blushing and that charming smile. He quickly blushed and turned around. "Um, let's continue walking then.." he muttered, trying to walk normally without having his legs wiggling at the sight of cute Miu. Ah geez, he thought, why'd you have to be so cute Miu? As they walked towards the back door of the school, Kai noticed someone glaring right at the two. Kai turned his head slowly and saw the mysterious, handsome man that he met the other day. When the two met each other's gaze, the mysterious student turned around and started walking away, hands in pockets.

"Um, Kai?" Miu quietly asked, noticing that they alreayd passed the area they were supposed to meet. "We skipped the area we were supposed to meet in.."

"Oh. Uh, yea. Sorry." Kai mumbled, turning around and walking inbetween the two school buildings, when they first hugged each other.

"So, what were you trying to tell me again?" Miu asked, tilting her little head, which made Kai blush even more.

"U-Um, who's this "important" person you were talking about? You know... the one in the hospital?" Kai felt guilty asking, but he needed to know. It was serious business for him.

"O-Oh.." Miu started sniffing, covering her eyes and turned her back on Kai. Oh no, Kai thought, I can't make her cry again. Not here, ever again. "It's just that.." Miu started losing it and lost her senses with the overflowing tears coming out of her bright, brown eyes. "The important person w-was m-my.." She lost it. She started to cry uncontrollably, just like last time.

"MIU! Please don't cry!" Kai hugged her again. Just like last time. "I didn't know that person was so special, you'd cry just talking about that one person! I'm truly sorry.." Kai started crying too, while he hugged Miu tighter. The two started to cry while hugging each other, like they were talking about super personally things and were touched in the heart by each other's story. When Kai finally let go of Miu, he wiped his eyes and saw the student staring at them again. In the exact same spot as before. This time, Kai caught a better glance at him. The fellow student had short, brown hair. His eyes were also gleaming black. They were so black, it was almost as thought he grabbed some of the night sky at it's darkest peak, and created his eyes with it. He also wore the uniform for men, shirt with blue tie and plaid pants. Each uniform shirt was white, and each bottom was yellow plaid. When he noticed Kai staring at him for a better look, he gave him the daring smirk and walked off again.

"Um.. Kai?" Miu started to wipe her eyes and noticed Kai staring at a random student with annoyed eyes, as if he was barging into their business. But he was. Miu poked Kai.

"What? Where? Oh, sorry Miu." Kai replied, suddenly acting normal again.

"Kai.. do you know him?" Miu said, examining the student also. "Um, stay here. I'll go ask him who he is, okay?" Miu said, a weak smile forming on her beautiful skin.

"What? Oh, um, no thanks Miu." Kai replied, staring at her once more.

"No, no. It's okay! This is a school after all. So no bullying allowed." Miu started to jog towards the mysterious male. Kai tried to stop her, but ended up follow her too.

"Hi! I'm Miu Nanami from classroom A-3," Miu suddenly explained to the male student. When Kai finally caught up with Miu, his heart nearly stopped when he saw the male student smiling with the most charming smile ever.

"Hello Miss Miu. My name is Kaneki Kyouta," the student replied. Indeed, his name matched perfectly with his body. He had pure white skin, almost like Miu's. He, too, had short brown hair, with crystal black eyes. He wore the regular male student outfit from Suiren High School. "What a lovely name you have, Miu Nanami," his smile was so charming, all the girls at the school would surely fawn over him, as thought he was the school's prince.

"Hello Kaneki Kyouta, I'm Kai Sadachi. Nice to meet you," Kai replied, voice emotionless that it almost gave Miu the chill down her spine. When Miu slowly glanced towards Kai's face, she saw that his eyes were thin and narrow, as if he wasn't sure about this Kaneki Kyouta guy.

"Hey Kai.. it's okay. I'm sure Kaneki's a nice person. Right Kaneki?" Miu turned towards Kaneki , waiting for his reply.

"Yes, I'm very nice." Kaneki started to smile again, but this time, he also had the thin eyes. Which was very intimidating for Kai.

"Okay.. if you say so Miu. Come on, let's go home." Kai slinged his bag behind his shoulder, and start trailing off torwards the front gate.

"Oh! Um, okay! Bye Kaneki!" Miu ran then stopped to wave goodbye to Kaneki. He replied by waving in return, with his charming smile again. Then, he walked off towards the front gate also. When Kai turned to look at Miu, he saw the cutest smile ever, which made him slightly jealous.

"So, Miu," Kai said, brushing his bangs. "Do you.. like Kaneki Kyouta?"

"What? No, not in a boyfriend-and-girlfriend way. Oh, uh, I mean, no...Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's nothing." By that time, Kai Sadachi knew he had to confess to Miu, before it's too late. Together, they walked down the street talking about school life and food, usually basic stuff friends would talk about.


	9. A Short Walk

"So.. Miu?" Kai Sadachi asked, as they walked down the pathway where they were going to go either left or right.

"Yea?" Miu Nanami asked, her voice still sweet. She turned to face Kai and the two instantly blushed the moment their eyes locked in each other's gaze.

"Um.. Do you like Kaneki Kyouta?" Kai asked, as he continued to blush at the sight of Miu. "Have you guys ever met before..? Something I didn't know?"

"Um.. I don't know if I like him.." Miu replied, trailing off and wondering in thought. "I don't believe that he and I have ever met before besides that time and I'm not keeping any secrets from you because we're friends, right?" Miu glanced back at Kai and gracefully smiled.

"Are you sure? Because I feel like he knows you.." Kai lost his voice when pondering about the past. "Okay then, I trust you Miu. Also, thanks for saying we're friends.."

"What do you mean? You're the first friend I've ever had at Suiren High School! Of course you're my friend!" Miu said, while doing the peace sign with both hands. Once again, Kai quickly peeked at Miu and blushed again.

"Okay.." Kai wondered, for it was about time he went to the left and Miu to the right.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Miu sadly said, slowly turning to the right pathway of their road.

"Oh, bye!" Kai tried his best not to sound negative in every way. "See you tomorrow!" With that, Kai waved goodbye and waited until Miu finally walked away from his grasp.

"Yea!" Miu blushed, and walked away towards the right. Before taking another step, she looked back and waved goodbye back to Kai. Kai suddenly blushed for the millionth time and quickly walked towards the left.

I hope that, Kai thought deeply, we'll be able to one day accept each other's feelings.


	10. IMPORTANT NOTICE!

**IMPORTANT NOTICE!**

Okay, so hey guys! From now on, I'll be typing my chapters and stories in a different way, so look forward to that. Anyways, I hope you like my new technique. I'll be using the italic words and maybe type longer chapters. Have a nice day and thank you all for reading this notice! -Kahylxn


	11. Sadachi's Quick Past

As Kai walked down the cheerful hallway of Suiren High School, his heart had been clenched with an unbearable shard of sorrow as he slowly walked. When he passed his old friends, they gave him a slight wave to say "Hello". Kai Sadachi flashed a smile and slowly raised his hand to return the hello. Suddenly, his legs started moving on their own and he walked towards his old pals. Kai Sadachi was absolutely stunning. He had a fair-tanned skin and had short, black hair. His eyes were sky-blue, which matched his hair, making him look like an angel from heaven for the female students at Suiren High School.

"So Kai, whatca doing? Wanna hangout after school and grab some ramen? Also what classroom did you get? Did you get A-3?" Inichi asked. He was about the same height as Kai, but only a little bit shorter and they wore the same uniform. Plain white top with blue tie and plaid pants. His skin was fair and involved brown, fluffy hair with matching eyes. He shot Kai his natural girl-attack smile.

"Oh.. no, it's okay. I gotta study hard to make my parents proud of me again this year because I want to be this school's representative. Also, no. My classroom is A-2," Kai replied, a fake cheer in his voice as he pumped air fists. "Aw", he heard Inichi whine.

"Alright, see you later," Benu Nagahi replied. He was also shorter than Kai and wore glasses. He had slightly gray hair and pushed his glasses. His eyes represented the sun as they were orange. "Keep trying to make your parents proud, okay?"

"Yea!" Tatuno Lenito shouted, as he too pumped air fists into the air. He was slightly taller than the two boys and had blond hair with gleeful green eyes. "Keep it up! You just might get the girls someday.."

"What the.." Kai gasped, wondering a out his future life. Then, he suddenly thought of girls for no apparent reason. He suddenly realized he was the most popular boys in the school and noticed there was no escape, because Suiren High School had a bunch of fangirls for popular boys. _Oh shoot_ , Kai thought, _the girls will be_ everywhere _and there'll be no escape.. Shoot.._ When Kai pondered about his escape plan as he walked towards his classroom, A-2. As he gently pushed passed the doors, he pushed back his hair, which eventually got the girls flowing and blushing over him.

"Uhm, can you girls give me personal space please?" Kai asked nicely, trying to shield himself from overwhelming the fangirl power.

"Okay!" One said.

"Aw, you look so cute that way!" Another girl complained.

"Bye Kai-kun!" The third waved goodbye.

Then, the ambush dissapeared as though Kai Sadachi had the magic to make everything listen to him due to his cuteness.

"Thanks..," Kai rushed to his desk and noticed there was another girl sitting next to him, protecting her face with her delicate arms. As he examined the classmate, it was as thought she didn't care. _Oh_ , Kai wondered, _maybe she's an average classmate_.. Suddenly, the girl pressed her face against the tabletop of her desk. That gave Kai the shock, suppose that he was about to talk to her.

"Wai-" he gently poked the sleeping female, or so he thought. There, right before his eyes, laid the most angelic female girl he'd seen. Except there was one issue, as Kai looked closer, he noticed shining tears flowing out of her big, brown eyes. _Oh god_ , Kai thought, _did I do something wrong?_ As he silently stared, his muscles froze, as if time had stopped itself for this very moment.

"Um, would you like me to show you around? Don't worry, everyone's friendly here!" Kai explained, releasing his arms to spread out as though he welcomed her to hug him. "Also.. what's your name?" Kai asked, tilted his head a little to make his smile more dramatic. The beautiful classmate just stared at him, as though she didn't know what the heck he just said. "Nevermind.." Kai murmured, as he stole a glance at the chalkboard for the names of the students. _Miu Nanami._ "Oh," Kai whispered to himself, "so that's her name.." _Anyway, I'll try to make her feel happy at this school, because she was.. crying earlier. Look out guys, I have a mission to do!_


	12. The Pain of One's Heart

"Huff... huff..." Miu Nanami panted, as her long flowing brown hair danced behind her. As far as Miu knew, her dad is currently in the hospital due to an unknown accident. Her other father a few weeks after Miu's mother died because of something that was.. magical. That unexpected tragedy happened when Miu was only 9. A few years later, when she was living inside a tent in a city forrest, a young man took her in and claimed that he would be her new father. He was also had apricot-colored skin, just like Miu, and had short, brown hair with fair and gentle brown eyes matching. When he took her in, apparently, Miu lost her memory of the incident involving her parents. Unaware of her second father suddenly collapsing, Miu felt as though her heart was shattered into a million, billion, and trillion pieces, each embedded with memories of her past life.

"Gah.." Miu rubbed her forehead because of a headache from all the running. "I.." _Thump._ There was something that caught Miu before she fell to the ground, but she couldn't depict the mysterious figure. All she saw was a man with short, flowing black hair with mystical black, glassy eyes. _Could it be,_ Miu wondered, _Kaneki.. Kyouta?_

"Ugh.." Miu opened one eye to peek where she was. Last time she remembered, there a man that saved her from falling down and that was all she could recall. She slowly sat up and scanned the area for any weird and mysterious stuff. There was only a cream-painted room with a basic single bed with basic white pillows and a single black blanket. There was a basic kitchen with top cabinets and counters with three tall seats. Something you'd expect at an apartment found in animes. "Huh.." Miu wondered and tripped on a pair of shorts. "AH-" Miu closed her eyes before crashing against the floor, but she didn't feel any pain. Miu decided to cover her eyes to make sure nobody would attack her or plan on kidnapping her. "Please don't hurt me, I'm warning you!" Miu started to shake, because she was lying, of course she couldn't do anything about it.

"Don't worry. It's just me," replied a cooling voice, almost a lot like...

"KANEKI KYOUTA!" shouted Miu Nanami, and realized what she just said so she quickly covered her mouth. "Are you.. Kaneki Kyouta?" Miu asked, as the mysterious man let her go and kept her back at him, or her.

"Miss Miu.. Yes, it's me, Kaneki Kyouta," Kaneki replied. Miu slowly turned around and her big, brown eyes got bigger. As gaped at Kaneki's outfit, she noticed it looked familiar somewhere... Miu shook her head. Kaneki was wearing a white, long scarf and a an anime-like blue ninja outfit, basically silk and some kind of metal shoulder pad. He was also carrying a long katana blade with slick, black cover matching the size. "Oh, um, pardon the katana. I don't mean any harm," Kaneki explained, trying to hide the long katana behind his muscular back. He wore a pair of tall, black boots, exactly made for running at fast speed, judging by the skinny size of it.

"Um, is this your..room?" Miu tried her best not to sound annoying, suppose that she cause enough trouble for a day already. "Sorry, but how did I get here? If you don't mind answering it.." Miu suddenly blushed and turned around to hide her red face.

"I don't mind answering at all. And yes, this is my room, is that a problem for you Miu Nanami?" Kaneki had such a soothing voice it made Miu want to hug him like a teddy bear. "I carried you here before you fell on the ground because I noticed on my way home from Suiren High School. It's okay, no need to feel threatened."

"You sure? Because I can see that katana right there," stated Miu, as she pointed at the insanely long katana hiding behind Kaneki's back.

"Oh. I'll put it away then," Kaneki said, as he turned around to put away his katana on his katana stand. It was one of those regular ones with a red stand and two handles for a better grip on holding the katana. When Miu stared at his back, she also noticed how gorgeous his back was. _Gah! Why am I thinking about this!? Is this how the girls at Suiren think about!? Am I turning into one of them!?_ Miu started to panic and Kaneki noticed, for he quickly turned around to show his chest, instead of his back. Yet again, it was also muscular and was hardly unnoticeable. _Oh gosh. There it is again, those muscles._ Miu instantly blushed and Kaneki also noticed that, for he wast staring at her beautiful, brown glittering eyes. When he saw Miu blush, he too blushed on grabbed a piece of his own blanket and covered his body, and sat down on the ground as he stared at Miu again.

"Um, why are you sitting on the floor?" Miu asked, her blush disappearing.

"Oh. Weren't you disturbed about my figure?" questioned Kaneki, as his blush also disappeared. He looked down, hoping Miu would not say "yes".

"Oh! That's right, where were we again?" replied Miu, trying to change the subject. _Another awkward moment, changed!_ Miu shyly fist bumped the air as she headed towards the front sliding door to check what street they were on.

"We're on Honaka street, pretty close to Suiren High School," explained Kaneki, as he headed towards the closet and behind one of those japanese covers when they changed clothes, like in anime. "Please wait for a sec," stated Kaneki, as he changed his clothes.

"Um.. can I go home now?" Miu asked, suddenly noticing the mistake she made. Her father was in the hospital and she forgot to visit him for a daily report about school. "No, uh, I mean the hospital. Yea! Can I visit the hospital please?" Miu asked again, correcting her mistakes.

"Sure, let me walk you there too." Kaneki replied, walking out of the covers and revealed too much abs. Miu squinted and tried her best not to blush again.

"First, please change the shirt that doesn't reveal.. too.. much," Miu quietly said, turning around to give Kaneki some space.

"Oh. Okay then," Kaneki went back behind the changing cover. "Sorry if I caused trouble," he added.

"U-Um, it's alright.." Miu said, trying not to think about Kaneki's abs. "Just make sure you wear something like a t-shirt.."

"Done," Kaneki stated, as he quietly walked outside the covers. Miu turned around and her brown eyes went wide again. As she checked to make sure his clothes weren't too revealing, she noticed a very long katana.

"Why are you bringing you're katana? We're going to a hospital you know."

"I just want to protect you."

"Why?" Miu asked, staring at Kaneki's katana as his grip tightened.

"Because you're the princess of the magical castle-" Kaneki slammed his hand against his mouth, realizing he said too much already. "Ahem, I mean.." Kaneki paused as he noticed Miu looked concerned.

"I'm a princess... of a magical castle? How?" Miu asked, suddenly shaking. "I-I don't remember being one.. all I know is that I need to visit my second father before night peeks in the sky."

"Miu.. I- Sorry if I cause you trouble," Kaneki bowed down in front of Miu as though she was indeed a princes. "Let's just go."

"Okay.." Miu followed him. Kaneki still had his regular black hair, but wore a sky-blue t-shirt with denim jeans. _At least he dressed properly,_ Miu thought. As the two walked side-by-side, Miu saw the hospital sign. "NAGI HOSPITAL" the sign read, as it stood proudly with shining white light piercing the darkening sky.

"Oh no, it's already getting dark.." Miu murmured.

"Don't worry, I can walk you home if you want," Kaneki replied, a protecting voice following his words.

"Thanks..." Miu answered, blushing as though it was something that made her heart tremble.

"What the.." Kai Sadachi whispered to himself, staring at Miu Nanami and Kaneki Kyouta walking together towards the hospital. "What is this.." Kai clenched his fists and turned around to walk home.

 _I don't get this at all._


	13. Death of Miu's Father

"Hello sir. I'd like to visit my father please. My name is Miu Nanami," Miu replied, casually sounding formal and mature. When she described about how she wanted to visit her father, Kaneki Kyouta just stared at her, astonished by the fact that she can act so mature, despite her shyness talking to other people. "Thank you," Miu said, carefully grabbing the paper from the woman at the help center, or those areas you have to go to check in at the hospital.

"So..," Kaneki started, trying to act normal without saying anything hurtful.

"Yea?" Miu asked, stopping to turn around and face Kaneki.

"Oh, uh, let's hope your father feels well," Kaneki answered. _Oh man, I almost screwed up._ He shoved his hands inside his jeans' pockets. When he looked around, almost everything was white and there were people holding onto clipboards, carts containing hospital gear, and people socializing and talking about life. _Is this really a hospital?_ Kaneki thought they had knives and other dangerous stuff, but this hospital seemed pretty average.

"Oh, here," Miu halted, turning a 90 degress to her right and faced a door. "Room 9-B" the sign read. "Well.. here goes nothing.." Miu sighed before turning the doorknob. _Errrrrr,_ went the door. There was silence, then Miu placed one foot carefully inside the dim room. So did Kaneki. "Father? Father, where are you?" Miu questioned loudly, hoping her father could hear her and give a reply.

"Over here Miu," her father finally replied, waving his weak and fragile arm.

"Oh my goodness, father, are you really okay?" Miu quickly held onto her father's weak right arm beofre it fell and collided against the metal railing. "Why do you look so white..." Miu started crying and at that moment, Kaneki's heart felt like it just got stabbed by a knife. Kaneki tried to look tough without shaking with agony, staring at Miu crying.

"Miu, it's really okay. I just hope that I live..," Miu's father noticed Kaneki standing in the dark corner and signaled him to come over. "Listen, Miu. I need to tell you something very important, and keep it between you and Kaneki, please?" the man asked, turning his head towards the two students. "Okay, Miu please don't freak out. But.. you're a princess from a magical castle in the magical realm. Now, I want you to do this," Miu's father grabbed Miu's hand gently and placed a golden star on her peachy palm. "Give this to a kingdom by the name of Dialete Castle, got that?" Miu nodded, showing she understood. "Tell them that is from Sir Rinmo, okay?" Miu nodded once more. "Good.." Miu's father suddenly started coughing a lot, more than usual. "My time has finally come.." He stared at his shining daughter for the last time and whispered for the two to hear: "I love you" and suddenly closed his eyes, the heart rate machine containing a line and a long _Beeeeeeeeeeep_.

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO! FATHER! NO! PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU, COME BACK! I..," Miu bursted out tears enough to fill a lake and ran outside, targeting the nearest doctor. She ran towards a female nurse and told her that her father was passing. "Please help him!" Miu frantically shaked.

"Okay, I'll go call the doctor!" the nurse ran quickly towards the doctor that looked somehow familiar.

"What's the problem?" the doctor asked, looking confused.

"That girl's father is dying," the nurse replied. "Go help her!" the nurse commanded, pushing him towards Miu.

"Uwah!" the doctor flailed, before he hit Miu. "Ouch.." he looked down and saw Miu crying. "Ahem, why are you crying?"

"MY FATHER IS DYING! PLEASE GO HELP HIM!" Miu screamed at this point, pulling the doctor towards room 9-B. "PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU" Miu completely lost it, but Kaneki held her back, only able to see the doctor check Miu's father's status.

"Miss, I'm afraid to say this, but.."

"BUT!?"

"Your father's soul is gone," the doctor finalized. He slowly grabbed some white cloth and covered Miu's father's eyes and body. His eyes were filled with sorrow, as if they were truly sad. _YOU FRAUD! DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT YOU PIG!_ Miu suddenly stopped resisting and looked at her father. Her eyes were completely blurry of tears and she fell onto Kaneki.

"At least you tried," Kaneki commented on the doctor and he carried Miu out of the hospital. "It's going to be all right, I'm sure," Kaneki softly whispered into Miu's ear before she lost consciousness.

As the Kaneki walked outside of the hospital, he noticed brown hair peeking out from behind and hospital stairway.

"Kaneki, what's going on!?"

"Look...," Kaneki explained what was going on and saw true sadness within Kai's blue eyes.

"Oh, poor Miu," Kai finally said. "Can I bring her home this time?"

"Sure," Kaneki replied, "Just make sure you don't do anything naughty," He said, and lifted Miu to Kai.

"HEY!" Kai yelled, certain he wouldn't do anything. "I swear I'll make sure she's safe." And with that, the two walked home, Kaneki walking in the other direction.

 _Let's just hope Miu's feelings are alright.._


	14. The Vision

"KANEKI! I NEED YOUR HELP!" screamed Kai Sadachi. At this point, he could've cared less about the students at Suiren High School staring at him as though he was some kind of maniac or psychopath.

"What is it?" Kaneki Kyouta asked, sliding the door belonging to classroom A-3. "How may I assist you Kai?" asked Kaneki, ringing his gentleman voice to make the surrounding girls gap and awe in delight. Kai stepped closer towards Kaneki and leaned in his ear to make sure the other students didn't suspect anything. Staring at this image, the fangirls around them squealed and giggled. Well, this was weird but at least most of them didn't suspect much.

"K-Kaneki... Um, Miu's not waking up," Kai tried to sound calm, but noticed Kaneki's eyes went dim and he stood still. His black hair was covering his eyes as he clenched his fists.

"Okay, lead me towards Miu Nanami," Kaneki whispered back. _Hang in there Miu,_ Kaneki thought, _I'm coming!_ As Kai smiled, approving that Kaneki cared. The two of them started running at their best, flying through Suiren's school hallway and past the front gates. While running, Kanki noticed something out of the blue: a man with a shining smile glared at him, wearing about the same outfit as Kaneki's ninja one, but everything was in a shade of black. His scark was also similar to Kaneki's: a white and long scark circulating his neck. When their eyes met, all Kaneki could notice was the mysterious man's violet eyes. Such a graceful shade of purple. Kaneki shook his head and continued to raced behind Kai, both panting and sweating, hoping Miu was okay.

"Here's my house," Kai slowly explained, pointing at a two-story house with a top balcony and potted plants as decoration. The house looked like a regular house from anime, wooden door, beautiful front yard with flowers, and a proud window with silk coverings. "C'mon," Kai said, gently and silently opening the front door.

"Okay..," Kaneki wasn't sure he could still trust this Kai Sadachi guy, but after the frequent meetings, Kaneki got used to Kai and built his trust. "Are you sure we should just creep in? Shouldn't I say 'hello' to your parents first?" Kai questioned, feeling as though he was unrespectful.

"No need, my parents are at work right now," Kai replied, tip-toeing towards a room far deep within the hallway, halfway open. As the two students crept closer, they heard soft sleeping noises, much like Miu's voice. When they finally reached the door, Kai silently at his best opened the door and saw Miu Nanami resting gracefully. Her brown, long and silky hair laid all around her head, as though they were protecting her by surrounding the pillow. Her eyes were closed, and for a moment, she looked dead. She still had her peachy skin, but it just wasn't the average the color, it was paler than before. There she laid, on a pink bed with four pillow of different sizes: round, square, rectangle, and triangle. Each had a different design with pillow coverings. The bed blanket was a plaid design with shades of pink from light pink to redish-pink.

"Miu," Kai whispered. "We're back from Suiren."

"Mmm," Miu weakly replied, half opening her brown eyes. "Welcome back." She tried her best to smile, which almost broke both the boys' hearts.

"What did you do to her," Kaneki said, loudly so Miu could hear. "Tell me, now."

"Hey, all I did was feed her regular soup, mushroom soup," Kai held up his arms as defense, in case Kaneki decided to punch him. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

"He's right," Miu got up, but suddenly collapsed back. Right in the nick of time, Kaneki caught her in his muscular arms before her head collided with the metal rim. "Something's odd, can I tell you guys about it?" Miu turned her small head to face the wo guys, who eventually nodded.

"What is it? Tell me every detail," Kaneki pushed, concerned about what happened to Miu.

"Yesterday, I had a vision," Miu sighed.

"Vision?" Kai made his eyes wide.

"Yea," Miu replied.


	15. The Vision Cont

"I had this... vision, of a woman that looked familiar and was just standing there- smiling at me as though she knew me," Miu Nanami tightened her grip on the blanket as she explained. She felt tears flowing and gritted her teeth. "I-I didn't know who she was... yet she felt so familiar..."

"Miu," Kai Sadachi said. "We're going to find out who she is, okay?" Kaneki Kyouta walked up from behind, and bent down beside Kai and placed his hands in the bed frame.

"Yea," Kaneki nodded. "What Kai just said." He made the same charming smile, while made Miu feel a little bit happier.

"Y-Yea," Miu finally unleashed her tears. "But... WHY!?" Miu thrashed around, uncontrollable of her tormented feelings. "WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER HER!? WHY WAS SHE IN MY VISION!? I-I JUST..." Miu cried, yelling and rushing out of Kai's bed, and ran out the door.

"MIU!" Kaneki shouted, Kai running after Miu.

"KANEKI! LET'S GO!" Kai hollered, signaling Kaneki. Kaneki simply nodded and started his impressive speed. He blasted through the door, which surprised Kai and grinned.

"C'mon," Kaneki waved. "Miu's waiting for us." He continued running, his surroundings blurry except for Miu's trail. _Tch, where are you, Miu?_

"Wait up!" Kai shouted, panting while trying to keep up with Kaneki. "Wait for me!" He smiled while reaching for air, keeping his spirits high. "You know I can't run that fast!"

"That's why there's P.E.," Kaneki flashed his smile at Kai, fastening his pace. As he was running, he noticed a brilliant, bright, white light. This wasn't normal because of the way it looked, mystical air-like effects with white color. When Kaneki reached the origin of the mysterious light, Miu was gone.

"Wai-Wait up," panted Kai, placing his hands on his knees. "Where's Miu, Kaneki?" He turned his face, suddenly putting on a scared face. Kaneki's face was turned into a serious, frustrated face with a darkened shade. His fists were tightened and he looked up.

"Wherever Miu is, we'll find her," he reached out for the sky and grasped the sky sprinkled with stars.

"Yea," Kai murmured under his breath, shoving his hands inside his pants. _Don't worry, we'll find you, Miu._


	16. Dialete

"Nnng," Miu groaned, feeling tired even though she was running at full speed the other second. "Where am I?" She got up, and rubbed her forehead.

"Welcome to Dialete," a stranger replied, out of sight. Miu got up in a straight form and scanned the area for any signs of the source of the strange voice.

"Where are you? Show yourself!" Miu felt tired, but was able to get up from the white bed and took a step on the cold ground. The room was white with roses of different color: red, blue, green, purple, pink, yellow, orange, black, and white. There was a vanity mirror on the makeup desk with roses embedded onto the rim. There was a door, of course, but it seemed as though you would have to run a yard to get there, and Miu's feet were in pain. "HNNG!" When she took another step, she became paralyzed of the pain. _That's right, I fell before I came here.._ She laid there, feeling hopeless. "Where am I!?"

"I'll answer them later, don't worry," the stranger sighed and stepped out from behind the white bed. He was tall and had fair skin with a pastel shade of yellow hair and glistening blue eyes with a fancy white tuxedo. It was as though he came straight out of a fairytale. "Okay?" the man jumped backwards and surprisingly landed on the makeup desk. "Just calm down, time will come eventually." Miu sighed with relief and groaned, feeling eager to figure out the answer. "Hopefully," Miu groaned again.

"Just answer me!" Miu was feeling deperate and wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Suddenly, her eyes widened and realized why did she want to go back home? Was there anyone she wanted to meet? Who was she? Where was her home? Miu's memories started fading and the last thing she could remember was the man grinning, watching her fall into a deep, deep sleep. "Noo.." Miu collapsed, but felt no pain. All she felt was warmth, and a soft and caring substance. Before she passed out, the man smiled. "Who.. are.. yo-" And before she closed her eyes, the man whispered "You'll see," and disappeared through the door.

When Miu finally woke up, her head was feeling a bit fuzzy and for a second, she almost forgot how to walk. She slowly hopped off her white bed and walked towards a mirror embroidered with roses in a wide range of pastel red shades. She looked at herself, brown glistening hair and big eyes. _Who am I..._ , Miu thought, _Where is the man from before?_ Miu bit her lip and crawled towards the door. It stood proudly with golden designs labeled on it, matching with golden handles as big as a dish. She reached out her hand slowly, and peered through the door. Miu turned her head from left to right, left to right. No sign of anyone coming by. _Great, now is my chance to find that man..._ Miu slowly and gently slipped through the slightly opened door and crawled along the gigantic hallway. It's roof held up shiny chandeliers made up of entirely glass. As she quietly strolled on, the had an extremely long red carpet, so long Miu wondered where they got it. Maybe duplicating it? The floor also had a red-ish color to match with the carpet. The walls were decorated with tables of magnificent, colorful flowers inside a golden vase alongside it's structure. The wall itself had an elegant wallpaper with shades of blue.

"GHH!" Miu groaned as she held onto her beating head. Something was wrong, definitely. _Since when... did I start having this feeling..?_ Miu suddenly collapsed, and as a coincidence, the linear man that Miu met earlier. "W-Who are you?" she asked again, feeling that painful feeling beating heavier and heavier. "I- Who am I!? Why am I even HERE!?" Miu had so much questions iinside her mind that moment, and felt numb. Before she collided with the floor, the man gently grabbed her into his smooth arms.

"Stay still," the man replied and grabbed what looked like a red potion inside a glass bottle with a golden tip and design. "Here, drink this. It might help a little."

"Thanks..." Miu replied, not even hesitating to drink the bottle. She slowly flipped open the top and sipped the mysterious red liquid. "It tastes... like strawberry?" Suddenly, Miu's head felt better and instantly sat up, almost frightening the man.

"Yeah, my dad made it. Do you find it useful? Is it helping your head?" the man questioned Miu, which almost made her head hurt again.

"Not too much questions, please.."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Anyway, why're you here? Are you a new maid?"

"MAID!?" Miu almost screamed that word out of her mouth, but controlled her voice. "Ahem, I'm not sure... I really don't know who I am."

"Oh.." the man looked as though he was smirking for a second. He let go of Miu and started walking deeper into the hallway.

"W-Wait!" Miu whispered as loud as she could.

"Mmm?"

"Uhm, thank you for helping me..." Miu replied, blushing a little. Since when did she feel this feeling before?

"Oh, your welcome!" the man turned around and smiled cheerfully, which made Miu blush even more. "Very well then, I should probably walk you back home, right?"

"Y-Yes!" Miu stopped blushing and snapped back into reality. She sighed silently and followed the man.

"Wait," the man suddenly said. He turned around and swept Miu off the ground- literally. He was carrying Miu like how the princes would do it with his princess. Arm behind back and under the legs.

"W-What're you d-doing!?" Miu felt herself turning redder and starting squirming around.

"H-Hey!" the man seemed surprised towards Miu's reaction. "Just let me do this at least! You shouldn't walk back on your legs since your head might hurt again. Don't worry, I won't attack you."

"Mmm," Miu replied, blushing and closing her mouth in addition to her answer. "I trust you, okay?"

"Roger that!" the man cheerfully walked towards Miu's room. _How exactly did he know where her room was?_ Miu thought, feeling a little threatened.

"Hey..."

"Yeah?"

"How do you know where my room is?"

Silence.

"I just do, after all, I live here."

"You LIVE here!? In this insanely huge mansion!?" Miu seemed shocked.

"Hey, first of all, it isn't a MANSION, it's a CASTLE," the man seemed slightly annoyed, as though he was asked this several times throughout his life.

"Oh."

"Second of all- to answer your question properly about how I know you live here- my dad told me. Okay? I didn't stalk you or do anything weird."

"Ohh, thanks," Miu murmured and thought about what she would do inside this castle. What was this place called again? "Say, do you know where we are?" Miu asked, hoping for a logical answer.

"Yeah, we're inside Dialete,"the man replied. He continued walking and looked straight ahead.

"Dialete.. huh.." Miu murmured again and felt this weird feeling as though she knew this place. "By the way, what's you name?" Miu blushed at herself, feeling embarrassed because she wasn't expecting this question to pop out of her mouth. "Forget what I said!"

"Hmm? You want to know my name?" the man smiled his cheerful smile again. "My name is Derata Moratou!"

"Oh, nice name.."

"What's yours?"

"Erm, you mean my name?" Miu felt confused, for she didn't know the answer. _What a minute, how come I don't know my name!?_ Miu started panicking and jumped off of Derata's arms. "I-I really don't know."

"Oh," Derata looked guilty for asking such a question. "Nevermind then..."

"O-Oh! Don't worry, I'm sure I'll figure it out somehow!" Miu smiled, which made Derata blush.

"O-Okay...," Derata whispered. _Hopefully Miu figures out who she is herself, before time runs out.._ Derata stared charmingly at Miu.

"Is there anything wrong?" Miu asked, while the two walked towards her room door.

"Nope, nothing at all," Derata smiled and opened Miu's door. "There you go!" he smiled.

"O-Oh... Thank you!" Miu smiled cheerfully, making Derata blush over and over again.

"No problem. See you tomorrow!"

"Wai.. Wait!" Miu grabbed Derata's arm. Derata paused and stood still. Suddenly, he slowly turned around.

"Yea?"

"When do we meet again?"

"Would 7 A.M. work for you?"

"Sure!"

"Okay, goodnight," Derata waved goodbye towards Miu and walked off into the hallway.

"Goodnight Derata!" Miu waved happily and softly closed her door.

"Yeah..." Derata murmured. "Please remember yourself Miu.."

And with that, Derata strolled into the dark hallway.


	17. The Plan

There was a man Miu didn't recognize. He had brown hair and deep, black eyes. There was another man beside him that had short black hair and sky-blue eyes.

"Who are you two?" Miu asked, suddenly feeling waves of recognition. She felt as though she knew them from somewhere... but where? Why did she feel like she knew them before? Where they friends with her?

"I'm-" the man with brown hair replied. Before he could say anymore, white smoke surrounded the area, hiding the two men within it.

"Dang it!" Kai Sadachi yelled, feeling frustrated. He slammed his fist against the wall multiple times.

"Calm down," Kaneki Kyouta said. He folded his arms, a sign he was frustrated. He furrowed his brows and thought about their plan on getting Miu back. What should they do? Should they ambush the area? Or should they just observer and find the right time to strike? He was holding a blue glowing crystal in his hand, which was the portal opener for them to travel to Dialete. Of course, Kai has no idea what kind of situation they're in so Kaneki thought about described the circumstances before Kai did anything rash and giving away their position. "Look.." Kaneki started to explain what was going on right now and about Miu's past and such.

"Oh, I had no idea.." Kai looked ashamed and stopped slamming his fists against the wall, giving it a chance to live longer. "Uh, so what should we do now? At least we have that crystal thing of yours," Kai pointed towards Kaneki's crystal.

"Yeah, but the thing is: Miu is STUCK in Dialete. Do you know what kind of place that is? Tons of magic and stuff unexplainable. How should I say this? What if Miu gets brainwashed and gets amnesia? The stakes are far to great for us to think that Miu will return with us- without forgetting who we are. And what if she's kidnapped or something? After all, she's the princess. Wouldn't robbers and bandits want to take her in exchange for gold? Think logically Kai, what SHOULD we do?" Kaneki was certainly worried about Miu.

"Uh-" Kai started. "So.. I suggest we observe? Since we have that crystal, we should be able to go out and in again and again through Dialete, right?"

"Right."

"So we SHOULD be able to check out Dialete before being caught right?"

"Yeah.."

"Why do you sound so unsure?"

"I-It's because..."

"What? You can tell me anything you know.."

"Do you seriously want another lecture about my rant?" Kaneki tried to change the subject and rejected his current feelings.

"NO! My ears..." Kai slightly laughed and stared at the sky. "I'm sure we'll be able to get Miu back, right? We just need to feel positive... Eventually we'll succeed."

"I hope you're right..." Kaneki slightly chuckled also. "Sorry to sound negative."

"EHH!?"

"I'm just kidding!"

"You better be!" Kai got up and started chasing Kaneki. "It's decided! We're gonna observe and chase Miu down! YOU EBTTER RUN KANEKI! OR I'MA GET YOU!"

"EHH!" Kaneki started sprinting, giving no effort whatsoever in running. After all, he was faster than Kai naturally anyway, not to sound rude or anything. Heh, so slow.."

"HEY! I'M GONNA GET YOU!" Kai laughed while chasing Kaneki. Kaneki also bursted out laughing.

"Let's hope you can!" Kaneki hollered. _Alright,_ Kaneki thought, _just wait there Miu!_


	18. A Visit To Dialete's Garden

"Haaa!" Miu yawned and stretched her arms to get her body going. "What should I do now.." She stared outside the window and started thinking about her dream last night. Who were the two men inside her dream? She couldn't stop thinking about that dream over and over again. She laid back on her bed and put her arm over her face. Her bed was white and looked alike to the room she in last time, when she and Derata first met. There was a vanity mirror, a white bed with lots of pillow, a huge wardrobe, and window with silky curtains. Everything was like out of a fairytale. Miu tossed her critique about her bedroom away and thought about the two men inside her dream (I sorta changed Kai's and Kaneki's looks so Kaneki will be the guy with black hair+ sky-blue eyes and Kai will be the one with brown hair+ ORANGE eyes-changed the eye color). Miu thought about that dream. What was the man with brown hair about to tell her? Was it something important? Suddenly, her head was shot with a quick memory, there was an image of her and the two men laughing together while eating takoyaki. So she did know them...

"Waah, why do I feel so guilty.." Miu brushed her hair with a brush designed with pink roses as the cover.

"Guilt about what?" Derata leaped through Miu's window and bowed.

"W-Why are you bowing? And HOW did you just jump through that window?" Miu felt really confused, yet amazed at the same time.

"Eh, it's a habit. Not sure if it's bad or good though," Derata smiled and hopped on Miu's bed. "Nice bed you got here. It's fluffy."

"Thanks," Miu replied, continuing to stroke her hair with the brush. "Say, can I tell you something Derata?"

"Hmm?"

"I had a dream the other day.."

"Oh? What was it about?"

"There were two men... about the same age as me, I think... I saw them and had this weird feeling I knew them from somewhere. One had short, black hair with sky-blue eyes and the other had brown hair with orange eyes.." Miu stopped explaining because she noticed Derata looked a little bit shocked.

"O-Oh, continue," Derata gestured Miu to continue her experience.

"Okay.. Well, the man with black hair was about to tell me something, but my dream suddenly stopped. Also, this morning, my head felt as though it was penetrated with a memory-it showed me and the two men eating takoyaki together..." Miu stopped brushing and gently placed the brush on the vanity mirror's counter.

"Oh, so you felt as though you knew them?"

"Yeah.."

"I see," Derata put on his serious face and glared outside the window. "That's good to hear.." Derata murmured and jumped off of Miu's bed. "Well, wanna stroll around the castle? I can show you around."

"Sure!" Miu's face beamed and skipped towards Derata. "Where to?"

"To everywhere!" Derata chuckled and opened the door and gestured Miu to come out first.

"Thank you, my prince!" Miu laughed, which made Derata smile again.

"Anytime mi'lady," Derata closed the door and the two walked off into the hallway.

By the time they reached the end of the hallway, it looked like it was fused with a beautiful-looking garden. There were all different types of flowers: daisies, sunflowers, roses, tulips, violets, daffodils, carnations, etc. There was also a pond right in the middle, surrounded with colorful crystals and rocks as the boundry. There were loutses and lilies planted on the water's surface. There were also some rainbow fishes, all with shimmering skin that seemed to reflect against the sun. Miu gasped when she saw a patio bench and ran straight towards it. Miu straightened her skirt and sat down.

"Do you like this garden?" Derata sat down besides Miu and stared at the blue sky.

"Yeah.. it seems peaceful.." Miu yawned the tried to fight against the magic of sleeping by blinking her eyes several times. At one point Miu yawned again, which caught Derata's attention.

"You seem tired.. Maybe we should head back to your room," Derata seemed concerned and brushed his blond hair.

"E-EH? No thanks. I want to stay here longer..." Miu yawned again and stretched her arms out.

"You can rest your head on my lap you know," Derata brushed anything that was dirty off his lap. He gently set Miu's head against it and watched her fall asleep. "Let's see what you dream now.." Derata whispered t himself as he watched Miu close her brown eyes.

"Thanks... De.. rata.." And off Miu went to sleep.

"No problem," Derata smiled at Miu's innocent, sleeping face. He twirled a string of Miu's hair and gently kissed it. "Sleep tight, my princess."As Derata looked back at the sky, He found himself falling asleep. His eyes slowly closed and then there was nothing. Nothing except for darkness.


	19. Paying Dialete A Visit

"Kaneki? You sure about this?" Kai clutched onto Kaneki as Kaneki chanted some kind of ritual language or whatever.

"Yea," Kaneki stopped and held out the crystal towards a dirt wall. "Watch."

"Uh, okay?" Kai let go and stared at the wall, waiting for a magical portal to open. And, as if on cue, a portal suddenly appeared with whizzing noses. _Whirrrr, whizzz, whirrrr._ The portal seemd to glow because the blue and white light radiating from it seemed to become brighter and brighter.

"Cool, right?" Kaneki turned around, expecting Kai to look impressed.

"Yeah! Do we just go in there?" Kai questioned, pointing towards the portal.

"It should lead us straight to Dialete, so yep," Kaneki ran and dove into the blue hole.

"HEY!" Kai ran after Kaneki and was sucked right in. All Kai saw was a bright light at the end of the portal, hoping it was Dialete. _Miu, we're coming!_

When the boys landed on soft, green grass, they quickly got straight up and scanned the area. It was like out of a fairytale, a crystal castle only a couple of miles away, with glistening mountains and animals grazing on the grass.

"Uh, are we changing plans? 'Cause it seems like we're just gonna ambush the castle," Kai seemed a little scared, but shooed that feeling away and stood up straight.

"Yeah, got a problem?" Kaneki was already heading down the hill. "We gotta find Miu as soon as possible before anything happens."

"Okay, and hold up! You're too fast!" Kai started running down the hill and stole a good look at Dialete. Man, was the scene beautiful. Kai kind of wished he lived here, but knew that Earth was his home. That's where all his family members and friends lived. He had to find Miu as soon as possible.

When the two boys reached the castle, Kaneki started walking to the side of the castle. Kai got confused because there was a great, big and brown door with golden handles right in front of them.

"Where are you going? Isn't the door right here?"

"We don't want the guards to find us now don't we?" Kaneki stopped and suddenly started running.

"H-Hey! Why are you running all of a sudden!?" Kai huffed and puffed, still being able to keep track of Kaneki.

"Because I sense Miu around here! Now hurry up you slow-poke!" Kaneki was in full blast, so Kai obviously had no chance at keeping up with Kaneki's pace.

When Kaneki stopped running, his blue eyes were huge. He couldn't look away now. It was too horrifying.

"Kaneki! You know I can't run THAT fast!" Kai panted and tried to look at where Kaneki was looking at. For some reason he seemed shocked, almost petrified. When Kai finally realized what Kaneki was looking at, he too was shocked. There lied in front of them was Miu and a blond, handsome man. He seemed about their age, which made Kai panic more. "What... What is this..."

"It seems as though Miu was taken by another man," Kaneki gritted his teeth with rage and stomped towards Miu. "Miu, wake up! Miu! Wake up already!" He started shaking Miu off the mysterious man's lap and placed her on the ground. "Miu!"

"Ehhh..." Miu finally woke up, her brown eyes glistening against the sunlight. "Wha-Who are you guys?" She gasped and realized they were the two men inside her dream the other day. "Y-You guys were in my dream last night... Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Miu, stop kidding around! We came to save you and bring you home!" Kai's expression changed into a scared one and had a worried tone. "You're kidding, right? you can't forget about us! We're friends!"

"Friends? From where?"

"From Suire-" Before Kai could finish, Kaneki held up his hand.

"Enough Kai. It seems as though Miu lost her memory," Kaneki explained to Kai bent down to his knees next to Miu. "Do you remember us? His name is Kai"-Kaneki pointed towards Kai- "and I am Kaneki. Kaneki Kyouta. We used to be friends from Suiren High School. We're in Dialete right now."

"Wh-DIALETE!?" Miu seemed scared and stood up, ran to Derata, and shook him. "Derata, Derata! Wake up! There's the two men from my dream! They're telling me that they were friends with me!" Miu started crying, which made Derata wake up.

"Huh? I'm here," Derata yawned and got up. He gently wiped off the tears from Miu's face and stared at Kai and Kaneki. "So you're Kai and Kaneki?"

"How do you know them Derata!? ANSWER ME!" Miu couldn't stop crying and sat behind the patio bench.

"Miu-"

"So it seems you're Derata Moratou. And how exactly do you know Miu?" Kaneki's blue eyes turned scary, which made Kai nervous.

"Uh, I'll just go towards Miu," Kai joined Miu behind the patio bench and hugged her. "Calm down, it's alright Miu."

"O-Okay..." Miu cuddled with Kai and wiped her tears. They sat together and listened carefully to Kaneki and Derata's conversation.

"I know Miu because..." Derata hesitated and clenched his fists. "Because..." Miu peered through the gap between the wood on the patio bench and listened carefully. "We used to play with each other all the time when we were small in Dialete... Then Miu disappeared." Miu placed her hand against her mouth and started crying again.

"Calm down Miu," Kai tried to make funny faces, which made Miu smile and stop crying.

"Thanks.." Miu continued to listen.

"Oh, so you're childhood friends with Miu? How interesting..." Kaneki smiled, which seemed terrifying, assuming his scary eyes came back. He placed his hand under his chin with his thumb on one side, and his pointer finger and the other side of his chin. "I see... Well, that makes sense."

"So don't try taking her away from me!" Derata shouted, realizing what he just said and stared at the ground in shame. "I just don't want... Miu to disappear again..." Derata looked up, his face red from either anger or embarassment.

"And what if I do? After all, she belongs to Earth now," Kaneki flashed a smile towards Miu right through the hole in the bench, which made her yelp. "Anyway, if you try to rebel against me, I'll have you know that I'm Miu's guardian. Her father entrusted her to me. If you refuse to accept my judgement, there will be consequences." Kaneki's face turned grave and suddenly a katana case just appeared out of nowhere. "So, what's your answer?" He slowly slid the katana blade out of it's case and tossed the case aside.

"Is he serious?" Miu leaned towards Kai and stared into his orange eyes. "Well, is he? Because if me and Derata are childhood friends... Kaneki would understand, wouldn't he?"

"Eh-Uh... Um," Kai shrugged. "I'm not sure but Kaneki looks pretty serious right now. I mean, his eyes give me the chills. You can feel it too, right?" Miu nodded and faced the battle again.

"My answer would be..." Derata slowly answered, "is no." Derata outstretched his right arm and a blue sword appeared out of nowhere and fell into his hand. What made the sword look cool was the blue swirling effects revolving around the sword. Everybody stared at it in awe, but Kaneki shook his head and returned back to his battle stance. He pointed the tip of his black katana and gripped against the red handle.

Miu gasped. She HAD to do something, and fast. Miu decided to charge up there and try to block the fight.

"You ready?" Derata smiled and aimed right for Kaneki.

"As ready as you are," Kaneki held his katana near his chest. He put his right leg back and his left hand for cover. Derata did the same thing, except for the opposite position.

"Ready-" Derata shouted.

"Set-" Kaneki squinted his eyes.

"NO!" Miu ran up, Kai trying to catch up, "You can't!" Miu waved her arms frantically and stood in the middle of the battle zone. "I-I.. I won't let you! If y-you guys wanna fight, you're gonna have to get through ME first!" Miu closed her eyes, ready for impact.

"MIU! MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" Kai grabbed her arm and yanked Miu to the side. "Phew, that was a close one." Kai quietly observed the two men in battle. Kaneki and Derata stood still as if they were paralyzed with a freezing spell. Each one had his arm holding the sword shaking. There were beads of sweat on both Kaneki and Derata's face. Their eyes were still giving each other deadly glares, but no one attempted to attack the other.

"Wha-Miu? You alright!?" Derata dropped his sword and right before it hit the ground, it disappeared and was replaced with floating blue particles. "Did you get hurt anywhere?" Derata glared at Kai and examined Miu's body. Miu was tired, so her eyes were closed. Unfortunately, Derata thought she was dead.

"GEH! Don't give me that look! And besides, I saved her..." Kai started to mumble in frustration because he didn't get any praise for being the ONE who actually SAVED Miu before she got herself KILLED. "At least give me some credit... And hey, she's only sleeping. You can clearly see that all over her face if you're her childhood friend." Derata kept glaring at Kai.

"Ahem," Kaneki slid his katana back inside it's case and slowly walked towards Miu. "Miu, I'm sorry, I should've known better than to act childish and fight with Derata." Kaneki did one of his death stares towards Derata, which made him frozen with fear. "Anyway, Kai and I will be taking Miu back." Kaneki walked towards Derata and Miu then carried Miu over his back. "We'll be going now."

"Yeah, and don't think about following us!" Kai pointed at Derata and returned the glare. Derata sat still, and kept staring at the friends.

"W-WAIT!" Derata chased after Kaneki. He held onto Kaneki's hand, which made his eyes thicken with darkness.

"What do you want."

"GEH! I-I just want to give Miu this..." Derata grabbed a small pink crystal from his bag, which appeared out of nowhere.

"Again with the stuff coming out of nowhere! Seriously, where and HOW do you guys even know where it'll land?" Kai was curious so of course he acted like this.

"Practice," Kaneki and Derata said in unison. They gave each other glares and Kaneki grabbed the pink crystal.

"Remember to tell her that whenever she looks at it, hopefully she remembers about me!" Derata shouted, his blue eyes filled with sadness. Miu started groaning, which meant she was waking up. Derata smiled at her when she slowly opened her brown eyes.

"D... Derata...?" Miu questioned, jumping off of Kaneki's arms. Kai ran to Kaneki's side to watch with him how it would turn out. "Where am I going?" Miu stared and pointed at the blue portal that started to form behind the two boys. "Are you coming with me?" Miu ran towards Derata and held onto his sleeve.

"Sorry Miu..." Derata started crying, covering his eyes with his white sleeve. "I can't, your friends are though. I have to stay here."

"NO! I-I want us all to hangout together... It's also been so long since we've been reunited..." Miu burst into tears, crying in harmony with Derata.

"I'm so, so sorry," tears strolled out of Derata's face. "I can't. My duty as prince is to belong here in Dialete. But I gave your friend Kaneki a crystal. You can look at it." Derata walked towards Kaneki and slowly grabbed the crystal out of Kaneki's hand. He slowly walked towards Miu and hugged her while giving the pink crystal towards her soft hands. "Just please, remember me whenever you look at it?" Derata stared into Miu's big, brown eyes with his soft, blue eyes.

"I..." Miu started crying louder and hugged Derata tightly, clinging onto his white shirt on his back. Both cried together, which made Kai tear up too.

"Uwah, they seem so sad to leave each other!" Kai finally burst into tears, his orange eyes softening. Kaneki's stiff face seemed to soften too.

"I know... But Miu belongs to us now," Kaneki slowly walked towards Miu, gently clutching onto her shoulders. "It's time to go Miu," he whispered into her ear, which made her cry and hug Derata longer.

"I DON'T WANT TO! I... I NEED MORE TIME!" Miu couldn't stop crying, which made Kaneki's heart tighten.

"I know but..."

"I SAID I DON'T WANNA!"

"Miu..." Derata let go of Miu and smiled softly towards her. He placed his hand against Miu's cheek and kissed it. Kaneki and Kai both flinched and started swelling up with anger and annoyance. "It's okay, the pink crystal I gave you is also a teleporter. You can visit me whenever you want."

"GEH! I knew it!" Both Kaneki and Kai said together, both exchanging each other smiles.

"Okay..." Miu sniffled and finally stood up. She walked towards Kaneki and Kai and nodded in approval to return home. "Oh wait!" Miu suddenly grabbed a golden star hidden within her floral skirt pocket. "My dad told me to give this to Dialete castle and said it was from Sir Rinmo. Derata stared at it and hugged Miu one last time before they departed. By the time he let go, the portal was already whizzing with rainbow colors, a blue outline against the border of reality. "Goodbye Derata! I'll be back!" Miu cheerfully waved goodbye and entered the portal after Kaneki and Kai. Her radiant smile always cheered up Derata, so he smiled back in return.

"Yea! I'll be sure to remember that!" He smiled cheerfully also and waved goodbye. Miu did a peace sign before she was completely engulfed in the portal. Derata smiled to every bit of Miu's last remains. He looked down at the golden star and cried. All alone, but at least he finally met the real Miu. That was true happiness for Derata. Before they bid farewell, Derata wished Miu happiness, hopefully that happiness comes to reality.


	20. Returning Back To Normal

Miu opened her eyes. Everything was normal, except the fact that she noticed Kaneki and Kai arguing about what to do after the "incident". They were inside Kaneki's room and Miu glanced nervously outside the window. _How is it going to be now... After leaving..._ Miu shook her head, which caught the boys' attention. They ran towards Miu laying on Kaneki's bed.

"Miu! You ok?" Kai asked, frantically holding onto Miu's arm and sitting at Miu's side.

"Yeah... I'm fine," Miu responded, feeling a sense of loneliness.

"Well, it's a good thing that you're ok. And to think that you would remember about giving Derata that golden star you're dad gave you, I'm suprised," Kaneki smiled, making Miu blush. Kai stared at Kaneki and made a bear-like growl. Kaneki quickly replied to the growl by giving a glare back. Miu stared at the two boys as they gave each other glares and stares. Miu giggled, which made the two boys stare at her.

"Ahem," Kaneki grabbed a set of Suiren's girl uniform. There was a pink tie for females with a brown plaid skirt, and the boys had blue ties with brown plaid pants (I changed the outfits a bit to make it look better) . The top was a basic buttoned-up shirt with regular tall, black socks and brown shoes. "Here you go. Around 9:00, we're getting out of this house and buying some groceries.

"Housewife much?" Kai whispered to Miu's ear, which made Miu laugh. Kaneki quickly turned around and glared at Kai.

"Don't ever call me that," Kaneki pointed at Kai. "Or you're getting it."

"Oh, sorry..." Kai nervously laughed with his arm behind his got up and waited outside for Miu to change. Kaneki followed and gently closed the door.

"I'll be quick!" Miu shouted. She stared at her school outfit and thought about her father. "Dad..." Miu hugged the outfit and cried. "I'm doing fine... Everything's... Fine..." Miu tried to stop crying but couldn't. Could you blame her? She had two fathers and they're both dead. Including her mother. After a few minutes of crying, Miu wiped her eyes and slowly got up to undress.

"So... what're we gonna do now?" Kai turned towards Kaneki. Kaneki looked down.

"Let's see how it'll go," Kaneki finally replied, and headed towards his kitchen. "In the meantime, I'll make us some omelets."

"Wait, you can cook!?" Kai almost laughed. Kaneki glared at him, holding his stirring spoon threateningly. "S-Sorry..."

"I live by myself. What do you expect," Kaneki went off in finding the ingredients.

"I'm done!" Miu ran outside and twirled around in her school uniform. "So, what do you think?" she smiled.

"It's looks... AWESOME!" Kai cheerfully smiled and gave Miu a thumbs up.

"Mhm, it looks nice on you," Kaneki stopped to grin at Miu with a softened expression. "M'lady," Kaneki walked up towards Miu and bent down on his knees and kissed her hand. Miu suddenly blushed, which made Kai feel aggravated.

"HEY!" Kai complained, hitting Kaneki. "You can't do that!" Kaneki retreated and grabbed his stirring spoon again.

"Geh, calm down child," Kaneki replied, shooing Kai away as he cooked. "You're going to ruin my omelets."

"Eh!? Since when was I a distraction?"

"Since now. Now shoo."

"Ugh, fine."

"That's a good boy."

"Come on Miu, let's hide from Kaneki," Kai whispered towards Miu, making sure Kaneki didn't hear. Miu nodded in approval in the two slipped into Kai's room. They sat and leaned against each toher, which made the both of them blush.

"E-Eh... Kai... I think you're too close..." Miu blushed uncontrollably, which caught Kai's attention.

"Oh, s-sorry..." Kai instantly let go and turned his face away to hide his red face. "I'll go over there..." He pointed towards the corner of his room, which had a bean bag. He sat on it and looked outside his window. His room was painted blue with white polka-dots, which caught Miu's attention. Anyway, he had a wooden bed frame with a blue-covered bed and about 2 fluffy pillows with the shade of grey. His blanket had stripes shading from blue to grey. He too had a bookcase and a computer resting on a study table right next to it, both next to the window. There was also a black basic clock, ticking it's seconds as time went by. "So..." Kai moved his orange eyes towards Miu's.

"Eh?" Miu quickly turned around to meet his eyes. Her brown eyes widened with curiosity.

"Do you... have a crush?" Kai mustered the courage to question Miu, waiting for her to start hating him for barging into her life.

"Erm, no. Not really," Miu replied. She pressed heer fingers against each other and turned her body around.

"Oh, ok... That's good," Kai murmured, feeling like an idiot. _Great, she just turned her back on me. She must think I'm an idiot..._ Kai turned moody and waiting for Kaneki to finish making the omelets. There was an awkward silence between them, which made Miu nervous and started to squirm silently.

"Uhm, Kaneki? Are you... done yet?" Miu asked, peering from the corner of the kitchen. "I wanna go visit Suiren..."

"Eh?" Kaneki turned around to see Miu's saddened face. "O-Oh, uh, just a bit. Hold on, okay?" Kaneki started to stirr a lot faster, which made Miu relax easier.

"Thanks..." Miu met Kai's eyes, and quickly turned her face away and walked to her seat. The two sat in silence, which made Kaneki poke his head out of the kitchen every 20 seconds.

"Okay, and done!" Kaneki triumphantly appeared out of the kitchen with three dishes of fresh omelets on each hand and one on his head.

"Whoa! Talk about extreme balance! How do you do that," Kai snapped into his positive form, which made Miu feel awkward. When Kaneki finished passing the forks and drinks along with napkins, the three quickly prayed and started eating. As for the seating, Kaneki was unfortunately in the middle so he felt the weird silence between Miu and Kai. His blue eyes darted from one person to another. When he was done eating, he finally couldn't take it anymore.

"What happened while I was cooking? While I was eating, I felt this weird atmosphere of some kind of gloomy feeling," Kaneki shouted. "You, Kai, what happened?" Kai too finished his dinner and stared straight at Kaneki's eyes.

"Nothing, we just talked about normal stuff..." He carried his dish towards the sink and rinsed it. He then headed outside the front door and prepared his school belongings.

"Miu?" Kaneki pointed his fork at her this time. "What happened. I feel like you guys a special conversation."

"N-No we didn't! We just talked about stuff..." Miu averted her eyes and pressed her hands against each other on her lap. "Nothing basically..."

"Spill the beans." Kaneki's blue eyes seemed to beam with some evil feeling as if he would strangle her. That look made Miu really nervous and she tried to run to the front door. Instead, she ran towards her room, which made Kai shocked and filled with guilt.

"Miu! Wait!" Kaneki chased after her.

"MIU!" Kai seemed dash before Kanki even touched the hallway's grounds. "Wait here, I'll deal with her." His orange eyes turned into a deadly glare, which wasn't a good combination with Kaneki's worried eyes. They stared and exchanged each other death glares and finally Kaneki agreed and headed towards the front door. Kai slowly walked up to Miu's room and gently knocked against the cold, wooden surface. "Hello? Miu, may I come in?"

"I-I... don't want to open the door."

"Miu."

"F-FINE!" Miu ran towards the door and slowly opened it. Her face was red, dripping with tears. Kai slowly washed his nervousness away and entered the room.

"Look, I'm sorry Miu." Kai explained. "I just... wasn't thinking... Sorry. Can we just return things back to the way they were?"

"But WHY did you ask me if I liked someone!? That's my own business!" Miu exploded, feeling frustrated. "Why did you... ask me..." Miu broke down into tears, for she was sensitive about her personal business and especially about her past. She sat on her bed face-down and cried.

"Miu..." Kai gently patted her head and closed the door so Kaneki wouldn't eavesdrop. "It's because..."

"Because what?" Miu rubbed her eyes to dry her tears away. She looked sternly right at Kai's orange, gleaming eyes.

"I..." Kai paused himself and held onto both of Miu's hands and clammed then together along with his. "I like you. I'm not kidding." Kai stared right back at Miu's softened brown eyes and released his grip form her hands. Miu sat still, unknowingly grabbed Kai's hands back. She looked down and blushed. Kai started blushing too.

"I-I..." Miu hugged Kai and stayed in that position for a few seconds. "I'll think about it? Maybe I'll accept your feelings, okay?" Miu smiled, even though she was crying, she still looked angelic with her glowing radiance of peace. Kai held onto Miu's hands longer and felt tears ran down his face.

"Okay..." He shook his head and slowly exchanged his charming smile. Miu got off her bed and extended her hand towards Kai, who gradually accepted the offer. Together, the two walked outside of Miu's room, letting go of each other's hand so Kaneki wouldn't suspect anything weird. When Kaneki heard them walking towards the front door, he turned around and smiled.

"So, how'd it go?" Kaneki got off the porch and placed his hands on his hip. "You guys took quite a while in there."

"It's all good now!" Miu cheerfully responded, outstretching her hands high into the air. Kai smiled.

"Everything went well." Kai slipped onto his shoes and swung his bag behind his back.

"Good. Hurry, we might be late." Kaneki quickly helped Miu with her bag and opened the front gate (I changed the apartment to their own house now!). Miu turned back one more time and thanked her parents for watching over her back and bringing her such good friends. _Thank you Mom, Dad. I'll be more independent now, just watch. I'll make it._ Miu smiled and chased after Kai and Kaneki. Together, they walked down Honaka street and talked about homework.


	21. Miu's Encounter With Auri And Mother

When the three students entered through the school's gates, this first thing that happened were fangirls screaming and emerging from all around the corners of the school. Tons and tons of fangirls. When Kai Sadachi and Kaneki Kyouta were completely surrounded by female students, Miu Nanami somehow managed to creep out of the crowd without being noticed. _Ah, it's good to be back..._ Miu stared proudly at the sign that read: "SUIREN HIGH SCHOOL" painted in red. As Miu walked up towards her classroom, she blinked back tears. How would she make friends now? Where should she start? Is anyone actually going to talk to her? Miu thought deeply and doubted herself in finding a new friend. She slowly looked down at her feet and clutched onto her bag strap.

"Hi there!" A girl appeared in front of Miu's eyes and gleamed with a friendly feeling. Miu just stared at her, wondering if she was talking to Miu or some other girl behind her. Miu slowly pointed at her face. "Yes you!" The girl had a brownish-orange hair color with bright eyes matching her hair. Her skin was a gentle blush of tan, and she wore the same uniform as Miu. Her hair was short with pink clips on the side.

"H-Hi..." Miu smiled slowly. Miu started walking towards classroom A-3.

"How's it going?" The girl smiled and swung her bag playfully. "Are you going to room A-3?" She pointed at the classroom's sign hanging boldly.

"I'm fine and yes," Miu smiled brighter this time. "Um... I was wondering..."

"Eh?" The girl stopped Miu in her tracks and had a curious look on her face.

"Do you..." Miu started feeling like a nervous wreck and looked down. "Want to..."

"Be friends?" The girl smiled even brighter. "Okay!" Miu released a silent gasp and held back tears of joy.

"Thank you!" Miu bowed down.

"No need to bow! After all, we're friends now right? Gotta act normal!"

"By the way... What's your name...?" Miu slowly asked,feeling the urge to know the answer.

"My name's Auri Tokada!" The girl replied. She had short, orange hair with glistening green eyes and pale skin, but a bit darker than Miu's.

"Mine's Miu Nanami." Miu relaxed a little, knowing that this student was nice. _Auri Sakiana... why does it sound familiar?_ Miu shook her head to wipe that thought away and focused on reality. By the time the two friends reached room A-3, Kai and Kaneki showed up. Kai ruffled his brown hair which made glow with his brilliant skin. Kaneki, on the other hand, just simply brushed his black hair and straightened his back. The two were the most popular boys in Suiren High School, which made it an average day for most of Suiren's female students to swarm around them like ants. Miu sighed.

"Oh, hey Miu!" Kai smiled cheerfully and waved hello. Kaneki simply nodded and waved hello also. The two boys started talking about sports and their clubs, which made Miu smile. She was happy that the two got along better than before. They laughed and chatted together, like real friends. Suddenly, the cries of fangirls pierced the silence.

"What was that!?" Kaneki asked, turning around and running towards the sound.

"Dunno! Gotta check it then!" Kai chased after Kaneki, leaving Auri and Miu alone.

"So... wanna check out what the students are doing?" Auri asked Miu, slowly walking towards the source of that screaming noise. Miu nodded and started following Auri through the school hallway. When they reached the end of their journey, Miu saw Kai and Kaneki frozen still while the female Suiren high school students all huddled together near the tree in the school courtyard. Miu and Auri glanced at each other, then from Kai to Kaneki to... Miu's eyes widened for she was sure of that male student was...

"Derata?" Miu slowly walked up towards the new student. Yes, it had to be him because he had the same shade of blond hair and caring blue eyes. Derata slowly turned to Miu, his eyes widening.

"MIU!" Derata exploded with pure joy and ran to hug her. Kai and Kaneki's eyes became scary when they looked at Derata hugging Miu.

"Derata..." Kaneki growled, his hands forming fists. He walked towards Derata, ready to punch him, before Kai cut himself between the two.

"Derata! Why're you here?" Kai's orange eyes gleamed with a demanding aura. Derata let go of Miu and smirked.

"Well, I came here to meet Miu." He pointed at Miu and shot her one of his charming smiles. The fangirls from across the courtyard groaned and moaned with frustration, wondering why Miu got all three of the popular boys at school. Miu's expression changed from happiness to nervousness.

"Um... guys..." Miu started, but lost her voice because she was really scared of how others thought of her. Auri rushed towards Miu and gave her a worried look.

"You okay Miu? You seem a bit tired." Auri's voice quivered with worry as she held onto Miu's arm. The three boys instantly stopped their debate when they looked at Miu and noticed she looked tired. Derata ran to Miu's side, instantly grabbing hold of her soft hands. Kai and Kaneki just stood behind Auri, exchanging worried glances.

"Don't worry guys-" Miu started.

"No. You need to go to the infirmary. Now." Kaneki seemed demanding, which made Miu flinch.

"Yeah, Kaneki's got a point there Miu..." Kai seemed worried and slowly slipped Miu from Auri to his arms. Miu groaned, which made Derata angry.

"Let me carry her!" Derata complained. "I'm her childhood friend after all. I know what she likes!" Derata quickly grabbed Miu from Kai.

"Stop it..." And before she knew it, Miu's eyes closed and all she heard was a muffle. Silence came after it. When Miu opened her eyes, there was nothing but a white void everywhere. Then, she saw a woman. She had long and beautiful brown hair, much like Miu's. She too had big, brown eyes that resembled Miu as well.

"Wait a minute..." Miu's eyes went wild and she started crying. "M-Mother?" She lost control and bursted out tears. "MOM! MOM!" Then woman simply smiled and embraced Miu within her soft and gentle arms.

"Yes, it's me Miu Nanami." Miu's mom smiled and had tears dripping down from her face. The two stood still, thoughts rushing down their mind.

"Mom..." Miu started, but lost what to say.

"Yes?" The mother let go of her child and stood up.

"Wait-"

"Mmm?"

"I-I just want to know... where can I find the real you?" Miu questioned, her head feeling light. "I want... to... know..." Miu continued weeping and tried to wipe them away.

"You'll find me. I'm sure, for the oracle herself is my friend and told me that you would."

"Oracle? You mean those people that can tell the future?"

"Yes." Miu's mom straightened her white dress and started walking away, in the opposite direction of Miu.

"Wait! MOM!" Miu cried, trying to chase after her beloved mother. "I WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

"You will."

"But I want to see you right now!" Miu shouted, extending her arm to reach her mother. Before she could just poke her, the mother vanished. A voice came, whispering: "I'll be waiting." Miu gave up and fell on her knees.

"WHAT ABOUT DAD!? IS HE OKAY?" Miu screamed towards the empty space. "H-HOW WILL I FIND YOU!? WHAT SHOULD I DO?" Miu cried again, all alone in the pit of nothing. _That's right,_ Miu thought, _in the end I'll just be all alone._ Miu thought about her amazing friends, Kai Sadachi and his positive personality. Kaneki Kyouta with his parent-like attitude. And finally Auri Tokada, who Miu just met today and felt safe near Auri. _I wonder..._ Miu yawned, laying down against the void, _if they will leave me..._ Then she fell asleep.


	22. The Hidden Truth

"Ugh," Miu groaned. When she fully woke up, Auri and the others had relieved faces and smiled at each other. Derata came up to Miu, looking ashamed and gently held her hand.

"I'm sorry Miu, I should've-" Derata's blue eyes wavered with tears. He held onto her hand, shivering frantically.

"It's alright." Miu instantly answered. She wasn't feeling well, especially from what happened earlier. She rubbed her forehead and tried to get up from the infirmary's bed. "By the way... why are we here?" Miu looked around and noticed antibiotics, bandages, medicine, and other medical supplies.

"Because Derata was scared," replied Kai, looking a bit pissed off. His face was glowing with a dark aura and his orange eyes gleamed with anger. "Nothing much." He dragged Derata from Miu's side and slammed the door outside. Miu, Auri, and Kaneki stared at the two argue about something private.

"Anyway," Kaneki started. "Are you alright Miu? No injuries?" He headed towards a termometer, the one for checking people's temperature. He grabbed one out of a glass jar and stuck it in Miu's mouth without even asking.

"Mmmm!" Miu protested with the stick inside her mouth. She folded her arms in disagreement.

"Calm down, I'm just checking your temperature to make sure you're not sick." Kaneki stared at Miu for a second, and also pulled Auri outside the room. "Come with me."

"Whyyyy!? I wanna stay by Miu's side until she gets better!" Auri whined, Kaneki pulling her by her collar. The two went on the opposite side of the infirmary and gently closed the door. Miu watched as the two left, and felt alone again. She laid her head against the pillow, staring outside the window. _Mom..._ Miu's head wondered off into another dimension as she recalled the dream of her meeting her mother. But it felt like it more than a dream, like a vision or something... magical. She remembered her mom and how they looked the same. She thought of where her father was, how to find her own mother. Where she would start... how she could get there... it took a lot planning and thought. _Soon..._ Miu quietly thought, staring outside the window more. The sky was bright blue with puffy clouds decorated onto it, making it seem like a white paradise.

"DERATA!" Kai loudly whispered, "DO YOU LIKE MIU!?"

"SHHH!" Derata blushed, making signs to Kai saying he should shut up. "Quiet!" The two whispered through each other's ears and crouched under the window so Miu wouldn't get curious about what they were doing.

"Fine, if you do, I'm not showing you mercy," Kai stood up, "If I win Miu, no whining from you."

"Fine! Same for you! And Kaneki!" Derata stuck his tongue out.

"D-Derata!? Why'd you involve HIM!?" Kai seemed shocked.

"It seems as thought he likes Miu too..." The two continued their conversation and slided the door open after 20 minutes, startling Miu.

"O-Oh, um, hey guys!" Miu smiled, waving hello at the two boys.

"Yeah," Kai replied, placing his arm behind his neck.

"Yup!" Derata seemed energetic. Somehow, Miu felt as though they were fighting about something, so she tilted her head to the left and stared at the two.

"Did... Something happen?" Miu asked, trying to stand up. She realized that they had glum faces and decided to stop talking and placed her palm over her mouth. "Sorry..."

"No, it's no problem!" Derata grinned, walking towards Miu and held onto her hand again. Kai seemed to be mad again for he had a scary aura surrounding him.

"Derata..." Kai hissed, ready to grab Derata and kill him. "Let go." His voice was indeed frightening, so Derata instantly let go, his face pale. It seemed as though the two weren't on good terms, so Miu just quietly spectated from afar.

"So.." Miu tried to lift up the atmosphere and right before she could say anymore, the door from Kaneki and Auri's side opened. In came an angry Auri and irritated Kaneki. Every few seconds, the two could send electrifying glares at each other, making Miu and the others feel threatened. The three just stood there helplessly and just stared at Kaneki and Auri battle silently.

"GAH!" Auri screamed, flailing her arms upward and charged towards Kaneki. "MIU'S MINE!" She screeched.

"Tch," Kaneki seemed disappointed and easily clutched onto Auri's arms, making her hit the air. "You're quite annoying, you know?"

"YOU'LL NEVER BEAT ME!" Auri kept punching the air. When Kaneki finally let go, Auri hurried to Miu's side and scooted Derata out of the way, who was shocked by the sudden shove. "Miu!" Miu turned around, feeling embarrassed about the fight.

"Ahem. Yes Auri?" Miu tried to act mature, but couldn't help it with Auri's eyes wavering. "Ah..." Miu couldn't resist anymore and allowed Auri to hug her.

"Eeee! Kaneki's trying to take you away from me!" Auri complained, sticking her tongue out at Kaneki behind Miu's back. Kaneki's eyes were filled with annoyance and prepared at leap and have at it at Auri. The two growled each other loudly, so Miu didn't have to turn around to see what was going on. _Ehh... Please calm down guys..._

"U-Um, guys... Calm down please..." Miu grew tired and suddenly blacked out. Auri screamed.

"MIU!" Auri and Kaneki shouted in unison, suddenly realizing that their fight was only a nuisance to Miu. Kai and Derata quickly caught up to the situation and rushed to Miu's side.

"You guys..." Derata growled, his eyes turning into a cold glare. Auri and Kaneki both felt as though they were freezing just from the glare.

"Kaneki, I never thought I'd see you fight with someone so immaturely," Kai helped Derata carry Miu and followed his direction.

"No matter! What happened happened. Hurry! We gotta bring Miu to Dialete because in my castle, we have some magical herbs that might help her," Derata panted, leading the group towards a blue portal that happened to appear in front of them when they entered behind the infirmary's white covers that were used to cover someone lying on the bed from others.

"How-" Kaneki managed to say. "How did you do that so fast? Usually it takes about 40 seconds..."

"WHO CARES!" Auri yelled, giving Kaneki a death stare. When she ran off after Miu, Kaneki stood there helplessly. Right now, he had to do something to help Miu so he wouldn't be useless to the others. He curled his fingers into fists and jumped into the portal, which hummed with blue sparks coming out of it. It grew smaller behind Kaneki and disappeared from the school's infirmary. Hummmm, went the portal as the group drowned in it's eternal blue void.

By the time they reached Dialete, Derata immediately stared at their surroundings for a split second and started running. Kai panted behind him, trying to carry Miu's legs without dropping them. Auri just ran besides them, watching out for any signs of danger. Kaneki charged in front of them, which surprised Derata, assuming HE was the one leading them. Kaneki's kanata appeared from the air and fell into his grasp. With his katana by his side, he felt confident that he could protect anyone from anything. He lead them, knowing the directions leading exactly to Derata's castle.

"H-How do you know... where my... castle is..." Derata panted, lifting Miu's body as gentle as he could.

"My memory is sharp," Kaneki quickly replied, as if he was waiting for Derata to ask him that particular question.

"Amazing..." Kai managed to say, before losing his breath and breathing heavily again. Auri just paused for a second, then fixed her mind back to reality.

"Hurry guys, we gotta help Miu as soon as possible!" Auri supported, helping Kai carry Miu's lower-half of her body by carrying Miu's feet.

"Thanks," Kai smiled for a extra help. Auri nodded in reply and continued running. Miu started waking up, groaning along the way. Everybody paused and all stared at her. "Miu? Wait, you're ok?"

"Don't be fooled, she's just waking up. How can you tell if she's perfectly fine right now? Sheesh, use better evidence." Derata stated, noticing his castle nearby. "We're almost there!" He started running at a faster pace, making Kai and Auri suffer more.

"How do you run this fast? And the stamina too! Oh my gosh, are you a god?" Auri kept on complaining, about to give up on helping Kai.

"Just hang in there," Kaneki replied, running with his katana as a shield. He lead the way through the foggy forest and ran towards th castle when they reach it's grounds. He ran towards the gigantic gates to push it open. Unfortunately, he had a hard time pushing them.

"I'll help!" Derata gently gave Miu's upper half of her body to Kai, rushing to aid Kaneki. Together, the two slowly pushed the gates open, a breeze of fresh air pressing against their bodies. They all stood in silence for a few seconds, praising the cool air that was given to them. "We need to get her on the 2nd floor to the medical center!" The group did as Derata commanded and headed towards the stairs. By the time they reached the medical room, Miu was halfway awake. She moaned as they laid her against the comfy white bed. Derata rushed towards the cabinets holding all kinds of herbs and medical aids. Kai shuffled next to him to lend a helping hand. Kaneki and Auri still gave each other glares, but Auri quickly gave up for Kaneki's icy blue eyes frightened her. When Auri helped Kai carry some bandages, Kaneki crept next to Miu.

"Glad you're awake." He softly said, looking down at his hands. Miu noticed his expression changed to worry and guilt.

"It's alright, don't worry about it!" Miu smiled and managed a thumbs-up to Kaneki. "I'll be fine!" Kaneki tried a smile and looked down again. After about 5 seconds, Kaneki turned around to fully face Miu. "Kaneki...?"

"I'm sorry."

"What for? I already told you not to worry, so don't..."

"Sorry. I just-" Kaneki seemed to break down, which worried Miu.

"Calm down." Kaneki's blue eyes wavered as he looked up at Miu's gentle face. Her brown eyes softened into a caring mother's shape. She slowly brushed her fingers through Kaneki's soft black hair. "Calm down, ok? Don't worry." Kaneki kept still, kind of enjoying the moment and tried to keep down his tears from falling off.

"Thanks..." Kaneki finally said. He smiled, and Miu smiled in exchange. The two smiled at each other for a while before Derata and the others finished.

"KANEKI! STAY AWAY FROM MY MIU!" Auri whined, grabbing Miu's hand away from his hair and hugging her protectively. "SHE'S MINE!" She and Kaneki seemed to be continuing one of their silence battles. Miu turned around to face Kai and Derata, noticing that both seemed pissed off.

"Um..." Miu tried to stay, losing her words. "We should head back to my world now..." Miu frantically stated, trying to get their attention. Only Kai seemed to notice her struggling.

"HEY GUYS! MIU SAYS WE SHOULD HEAD BACK HOME!" Kai hollered, sending Miu's message easily. Derata blinked a couple of times, which meant that he found the message odd.

"But this IS my home," Derata said. "Are you ok Kai?" He seemed to be worried, which only made Kai annoyed since he thought Derata was toying with him.

"GEH! I'm perfectly fine, geez." Kai distanced away from Derata's outstretched arm.

"We need to make sure Miu is fine before we leave though," Auri suddenly remembered. "Isn't that the reason why we almost sweated to death bringing Miu here?" Auri recalled, feeling the chills of sweating like a dog and shivered just thinking about it.

"N-No... I'm fine." Miu tried to get up, losing her balance and leaning against Kaneki. Derata, Kai, and Auri seemed to be giving Kaneki death looks as he held onto Miu because Kaneki's face turned white.

"Tch. You guys never give up, don't you?" Kaneki carried Miu over his arms in a bridal-like style. "How immature." The others seemed offended by the statement and seemed irritated.

"Anyway, Miu, I gotta put some protection in your body using this syringe. It might hurt, it might not. Not sure exactly."

"Wait wait wait, you're stabbing a syringe into Miu? And you don't EVEN know if it's safe?" Kai seemed worried because his orange eyes were darting from the needle to Miu, needle then Miu, needle then Miu.

"It's okay, Kai. I can endure the pain." Miu tried to clam the others down. "It's okay! Please calm down everyone! It's just a syringe, no big deal." Unfortunately, Miu wasn't on good terms with needles because she was always freaked out about the thin tip. Miu slowly gulped and took a deep breath. "Although I'm not fond of needles..." She murmured, regretting what she said.

"Okay... One... Two..." Derata slowly counted, moving the needle closer and closer towards Miu.

"MIU!" Auri finally screamed. "It's okay if you don't wanna take it!" She instantly grabbed Miu's arm away from Derata.

"AURI!" Kai yelled, trying to seperate Auri from clutching onto Miu's arms. Kaneki seemed disturbed too because he started to cough. "Miu can do this!"

"Auri..." Miu calmly moved Auri's hands away from her right arm. "I can do this, if you believe in me then let go." Auri didn't hesitate. She slowly walked back next to Kai, her head facing down in defeat. Miu tried to think of happy thoughts.

"Ready?" Derata asked, knowing that Miu was afraid of needles. He held onto her arm, ready to insert the needle inside Miu's flesh.

"R-Ready..." Miu started sweating a lot, a sign that she was nervous. Her body started moving so she wouldn't have to feel the pain. "Just go!" Derata stabbed the needle in. This was it. In a few seconds, the needle would be gone and Miu would soon feel better, hopefully. Miu yelped, which surprised the others. She suddenly covered her mouth with her hands. "Sorry."

"Miu..." Kaneki lost his voice when Kai and Auri started rushing to Miu's side.

"MIU!" The two said in unison. "ARE YOU OKAY?" The two seemed frantic, which made Miu chuckle because they looked alike when worried. At first, it was a chuckle, then it became a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Auri questioned, pouting.

"Ahaha, sorry. My bad. It's just that you guys look alike when you both are worried." Miu burst out laughing, which made the group of friends relax.

"Well, at least you didn't cry." Derata teased, throwing the syringe inside the safety trash can. "I'm glad though."

"HEY! I do NOT cry!" Miu argued. She stood up, feeling perfectly fine. Kai and Auri walked to Kaneki's side and watched the argument.

"Um, yea. You do." Derata flatly replied. "I remember when you were small, always crying when you tripped or came in contact with a needle."

"HEY!" Miu started chasing Derata around, the two laughing together.

"Guys, we should probably head back now." Kaneki opened the door, waiting for the rest to get outside.

"Kaneki's right. We should head home before anyone suspects anything, especially my parents." Kai and the others walked outside the room, waiting for Miu to follow. They stood still, until Kaneki noticed something.

"Ugh, why'd you say that Kai? How rude." Kaneki slapped Kai's head and walked towards Miu, leaving the rest in shock. Kai suddenly realized that Miu didn't have any parents anymore and was currently living with Kaneki. He couldn't move, every inch of his muscle glued to the ground as he stood with shock and stupidity.

"Miu..." Kai started, feeling a hostile aura coming from Derata and Auri.

"Kai Sadachi..." The two growled, punching Kai.

"OW OW OW OW!" Auri closed the door so Miu and Kaneki wouldn't hear their conversation. Kaneki turned back to Miu, hugging her. He enjoyed the moment, but knew that wasn't supposed to be what he was thinking.

"Miu..." Miu started crying, which made Kaneki frozen still. "I-"

"MOMMY! DADDY! WHERE ARE YOU!" Miu cried uncontrollably, making Kaneki hug her even tighter.

"Shh, it's alright." Kaneki brushed his fingers through Miu's soft brown hair, his sky-blue eyes quivered as he tried to restrain Miu from running away. Miu struggled, crying and trying to run away.

"LET GO! I WANNA SEE MY PARENTS!" Kaneki knew that the moment Miu was reminded of her parents, she would started acting like a lost child within the woods, having nowhere to go. "KANEKI! L-LET GO! I wanna..." Miu broke down. She cried, falling to the ground. "Where did they go!? Why'd they leave me alone!?" Kaneki hugged Miu until she stopped crying.

"I know... that feeling..." Kaneki started feeling tears rolling down his face too, for his past was much similar to Miu. "I know what you're feeling right now."

"Hic-how do you know-hic-what I'm feeling-hic-right now?" Miu sniffled, hiccups occuring now and then. "H-How..."

"Because..." Kaneki couldn't think of anything. "I just do." He covered Miu in his arms. "It's alright now..."

"Don't just talk about your parents in front of Miu! Actually, don't even mentiont he word "parent" in front of her!" Derata yelled, making Auri restrain him from punching Kai. Kai, on the other hand, felt like a total idiot.

"Sorry... I didn't-I just-"

"DON'T GIVE ME AN EXCUSE YOU-" Derata finally broke free from Auri's arm prison and pulled Kai by his collar. "LISTEN YOU RAT. I'M WARNING YOU-" Derata finally realized that Kai was really regretting what he said. Derata let go of Kai and backed away. "I-Sorry..."

"Kai... Derata..." Auri glanced back and forth between the two boys. "Hopefully Miu's feeling better..." Derata and Kai turned to see Auri upset. The three sat silently under the moonlight, thinking silently to themselves.

"Oh look, it's the moon!" Kaneki tried to make Miu feel better, pointing outside the window. "Wanna see it?" Miu just nodded, allowing Kaneki to lead the way. Miu reached out towards the moon.

"So bright..." Miu looked around. "Say, Kaneki, can I ask you something?"

"Mmm?" Kaneki turned towards Miu, ready to answer any kind of question she threw at him.

"Have you ever met my parents?" Kaneki's eyes widened. Miu turned around, her brown eyes glistened under the moonlight. Kaneki kept staring at Miu, and after a minute, he finally answered.

"Yes, I have Miu." Miu's eyes also widened, feeling a tons of answers rushing down her head.

"W-Well, have you met them? Maybe when I was small?" Miu kept staring at the moon, feeling it's warm presence.

"Yes. You were quite small, but I shouldn't say since we're about the same age. All I can tell you was that your parents... They were extremely nice and polite. They were like an actual king and queen, I mean they were but you get what I mean, right?" Kaneki waited for Miu's response. She simply nodded, gesturing Kaneki to continue on. "Ahem, they were on good terms with my parents so my family and I would visit every now and then. I still remember when you were small." Kaneki leaned closer to Miu, making her blush and looking like a tomato. "You were cute as a baby sheep." Miu smiled, staring at the stars.

"Was I that cute? I hardly believe that!" She started giggling, which made Kaneki relax since he made Miu feel better. "Anyway, continue on."

"Then..." Kaneki paused. Miu seemed to guess about what he was about to say. "How should I say this, your dad... my parents..." Miu's eyes widened with curiosity.

"Then my mom died and my dad died too, didn't he?" Miu's expression changed to sorrow and leaned against the windowsill. Kaneki seemed to worry about his word choices, yet continued on.

"Yes, so my parents set up a funeral but your dad already gave you to your foster dad, also known as Sir Rinmo. Anyway, the whole kingdom were soon scattered across and Dialete world, setting up new and different kingdoms, hoping that one day their future princess might return." Kaneki held onto Miu's slim hand. "A girl known as Miu Nanami." Miu started dripping tears down her face.

"How did my mom die though, all I remember was a bright light and then before I knew it, she..." Miu cried again. This time, Kaneki didn't try to comfort her because he knew that this day would come soon in the future anyway. "She... disappeared..."

"Yes, and that was all to protect you, you know? She greatly loved you." Miu had a flashback and visioned her mother disappearing into the light. "As for your father..."

"But in my dream, my mom told me that I would find him! Maybe he's still alive!?"

"No-Miu-"

"MY MOM WOULDN'T LIE TO ME! WOULD SHE!? I-" Miu cried, finally realizing that she was the reason why this world came to be how it is right now. "I BELIEVE MY DAD IS STILL ALIVE!"

"Miu-"

"I BELIEVE!"

"MIU!" Kaneki grabbed her, hugging her. "Just breathe, okay?" Miu stopped struggling and allowed Kaneki to protect with his muscular arms. Kaneki slowly let go to check on Miu's current mood. Miu stood there, like an empty shell with no soul and found itself lost in a void of eternal darkness. Miu's brown eyes had no sign of life.

"I... believe..." Miu slowly said, her voice fading slowly as she talked. "That my dad is... still..."

"Miu." Kaneki spoke sternly, holding onto her arms, making her look right into his eyes. "Listen to me." Miu stared into his thin eyes. "Everything... Your dad is dead. Your mom was just saying that to make you feel better. Trust me, your family... is dead. Don't place this burden on yourself, okay? you ahve me, Kai, Derata, and Auri to talk to." Miu blinked her gentle eyes several times before crying again.

"Yes... thank you for telling me... Kaneki..." Miu's eyes glowed back to normal, her eyes red from crying as she wiped her tears. "Can we go home... now..." Kaneki smiled, his expression softening.

"Sure."

"They're coming out!" Auri whispered, listening to Kaneki and Miu's footsteps. "Hurry guys! Act natural or whatever!" Kai started whistling while Derata just played with his clothing. They all waited in silence until Kaneki slowly opened the wooden door. Miu stepped out, everyone sighing in relief.

"MIUUUU!" Auri cried, hugging Miu in a tight squeeze. "What were you talking about? I neeeed to know, eheh." Miu blushed.

"We just talked about normal stuff, like... math."

"Math?" Kai asked, tilting his head towards the left. "Isn't math easy though?"

"I find math hard too," Derata chimed in, barging in between Auri and Miu. "You see, me and Miu have had some difficulties with this subject known as math."

"Seriously?" Auri asked, looking at Miu to make sure she was the real deal. Miu slowly nodded in embarrassment.

"Y-Yea... I don't really know how to solve... some stuff..." Miu playing with her fingers, her face still red.

"Miu! I thought you knew your stuff well!" Auri complained, having a hard time believing that Miu stuggled with easy stuff such as math.

"I-It's true!" Miu protested, walking towards the staircase.

"I guess I'll have to tutor you then," Kai smirked. "After all, I'm an expert in math."

"What about english? Huuuh?" Derata teased, clinging onto Miu's arm while trying to swat Auri away.

"Tch," Kaneki finally said. Everybody paused and stared at him. "Let's just go back home."

"Yeah..." Miu said, bringing Derata on her left arm and Auri on her right arm. "I feel slightly tired now..." Kai looked at Miu, then at Kaneki.

"You sure nothing happened?"

"YES!" Kaneki and Miu said in unison, which surprised Kai.

"Okay, okay." He held his hands in defeat. "Sheesh, calm down."

The group started walking towards the blue portal Derata summoned with the crystal. By the time they got home, it was around 10:00 P.M.

"Awuh, it's so late!" Auri complained, still clinging onto Miu. "Can I sleep with Miu? Girls need sleepovers too ya know!"

"Eh, I'm fine." Derata said. "I'll go home."

"To Dialete?" Miu asked.

"No, I have some relatives I know that live around here."

"Cool." Kai said. "I'll go with Kaneki and Miu."

"Wait," Auri halted Kai by blocking his direction. "You three LIVE together!?" Derata stopped, giving off a menacing aura and slowly walked towards Kai and Kaneki.

"You guys..." He hissed, giving the group a hostile feeling. "YOU BETTER EXPLAIN THIS!"

After a few minutes of explaining on Honaka street, Derata finally unterstood after Kaneki repeated the same phrases several times.

"Geez, is your brain made out of peanuts or something?"

"HEY!"

"Guys... We need to get ready for school tomorrow." Miu said, standing between Kaneki and Derata.

"Miu is right, we should get some shut eye for school," Kai yawned. Auri also yawned.

"But I wanna sleep with Miuuuu!" Auri complained.

"Too bad." Kaneki said coldly, making Auri complain even more.

"Whyyyy?!" Auri kept on saying, making Miu feel even more tired.

"Auri, you and I can go to the cafe near the school, okay? Will that make you feel better?" Miu calmly said.

"YAH!" Auri hugged Miu and headed towards her direction to her house. "BYE GUYS!" She hollered, one hand cupped around her mouth and the other waving goodbye. The group waved in response. Derata then walked off on his journey home seconds after Auri, waving goodbye. Then, Kaneki, Miu, and Kai were all alone. Miu yawned.

"Seems like someone is tired, eh?" Kai said, brushing through his brown hair. "I feel tired too..."

"We should head home before it gets really dark." Kaneki finally said. "Follow me."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Kai teased, making Kaneki show his fist threateningly. Kai soon gave in.

"I'm glad I got better though." Miu said, trying to keep upk their awkward conversation. "Right?"

"Yep." Kai smiled, making Miu blush. "I'm extra happy." Kaneki seemed irritated.

"Ahem, let's not start flirting." Kaneki smiled, Kai feeling offended.

"I wasn't flirting!" Kai protested.

"Mhm," Kaneki said, giving off a smug look. "I believe you."

"EYYY!" Kai punched Kaneki softly several times. Miu started giggling, then bursted out laughing, which made both boys stop and give off confused looks. "What's so funny?" Kai asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just feel really happy that you and Kaneki are on good terms." When Miu said this, both boys suddenly blushed. Kai covered his face with his hands to make the others think that he was smiling behind his hands. Kaneki on the other hand, just simply turned around, covering his mouth with his hand. Miu smiled, and thought about her parents. _Mom, Dad, I think I'm doing fine. Thank you for looking after me. I wish you guys the same happiness I'm feeling right now._ Miu stared at the sky, reaching out for the glistening stars like mini coins inside an ocean. And from then on, Miu knew that as long as she had the others with her, there was a very low chance that something might happen. If something bad did happen, hopefully something even better comes out of it.


	23. A New Character

When Miu Nanami woke up, the others were downstairs eating breakfast. She yawned at first, stretched, and slid off the bed's blanket and headed downstairs. Her delicate feet glided across the cold, wooden floor as she walked through the hallway. The cold air brushed against her pure skin, brown hair flowing elegantly through the breeze. By the time Miu got there, she noticed that everyone was already in their uniform, without even waking her up at the same time. She sneezed, which caught their attention, Kai being the first to notice.

"Hey Miu!" How was your sleep? Was it nice?" Kai smiled, his radiant brown hair matching his glowing orange eyes. He laid his chin on the back on his left hand, the right holding onto a cup of green tea.

"That just sounds creepy." Kaneki commented, making Kai fluster.

"H-Wha-NO! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT-" Kai desperately tried to hide his odd question.

"What?" Miu chimed in. "What sounds creepy?" Kai sighed in relief while Kaneki just facepalmed himself. Miu tiled her head to think about Kai's question and then sniffed the air. It was the smell of fresh eggs and sausage. "Mmm, that smells good Kaneki!" Miu complimented.

"Thanks," Kaneki smiled. His brushed his black hair back to prevent it form covering his eyes since he didn't want to screw up the breakfast, especially when Miu complimented on it. Then again, Kaneki was one heck of a cook. He blue eyes flashed from side to side, keeping up with the eggs and green tea. He was already finished with the sausages, which Kai munched on half of. "Try no to eat too much, Kai. You might get fat." Kai spitted out his breakfast.

"F-Fat!?" Kai started to drink his green tea a lot faster now. Miu laughed, which made both boys stop for a bit and blush. Kai tried to hide his face by covering it with the cup. On the other hand, Kaneki just bent his head lower so Miu wouldn't be able to see. After a few seconds, they resumed back to what they were doing. Miu smiled and slowly went back up the stairs.

"Save some for me! I'll change fast!" Miu started running up the stairs.

"Make sure you don't trip along the way," Kaneki teased.

"H-Hey!" Miu said, while reaching the second floor. She walked towards her room and slowly opened the door. When the door was opened, Miu's brown eyes flailed wide open. She couldn't talk, not even make a sound. There was a teenager male-about the same age as Miu-sitting with his legs crossed over the other on her windowsill. The boy had a deep shade of purple hair and brilliant golden eyes. They stared at Miu, gazing onto her soul as if she was trapped inside an empty cage in the middle of nowhere.

"Wha-Who are you...?" Miu asked, slowly walking towards the man. "I feel like I know you from somewhere..." She said, her eyes caught into the mysterious man's glare. "You..." When Miu stood close enough to poke the man in the eyes, she just stared at him, feeling an odd sense of remembrance. Her head burned with curious thoughts. She reached out for the boy's face until he moved back, which made her flinch and return back to reality. The two just stared at each other more, until Kaneki appeared beside her door. His blue eye flew open, his face frozen with terror.

"Y-You..." Kaneki started, losing his words as he felt the same as Miu, a strange feeling like visiting a lost relative. Miu turned around, her brown eyes open and blinking with curiosity. "Miu..."

"Kaneki..." Miu trailed off as she looked back at the male and turned back to Kaneki. "Why do I feel like I know him..." Her body stood still in shock, her hands trembling with the urge to remember the forgotten. She finally clenched her hands into fists. "I need to know..." She walked towards the boy, gently grabbing his collar. "Who are you!? Why do I feel like I know you?" Miu demanded, frustrated with this odd feeling. The urge to know about this man was strong, for Miu held onto his collar even tighter. "TELL ME!" This time, Kai came running up, he too standing in shock.

"Wait... Who is that guy?" Kaneki and Miu turned to face Kai, signaling him that they didn't know either. This strange teenager just simply smirked, making Miu feel even more annoyed.

"ANSWER ME!" She screamed, breaking inside. "I NEED TO KNOW! WHY!? WHY YOU?" The boy simply allowed Miu to scream in his ear and tug onto his collar as long as she wanted. Miu continued this rant for several minutes, Kaneki and Kai feeling worried that she wouldn't be able to stay the same as she was before. Miu cried, finally losing it after her continuous yelling. The boy just stood still, tugging onto Miu's last straw. "I WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER! PLEASE!" Miu pleaded, making Kaneki looked down and Kai feeling useless, the two unable to help Miu in her most tragic state. But they knew that there would be more days similar like this when Miu would have to solve it herself. It was the right thing to do, yet it was horrible standing in the background.

"Miu-" Kai finally said, getting cut of by the man.

"You'll find out very soon." The boy slowly replied, still stone cold while Miu tugged onto him. "Rest assured, that day will come soon."

"YOU! YOU DON'T CARE, AM I WRONG? YOU-YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY!?" Miu cried, pleading and breaking down inside her heart. "You... So cruel..." Miu finally let go of the teenage boy's collar. Miu continued screaming, Kai and Kaneki finally grabbing onto her two arms and prevent her from hitting him. "LET GO!"

"NO! MIU, THIS IS NOT YOU! GIVE US OUR MIU BACK!" Kai shouted back, holding tighter onto Miu's right arm, while Kaneki held onto the left.

"Miu, Kai's right. Don't let this man corrupt you. You'll find out soon." Kaneki calmly commented, making Miu feel reassured more.

"Y-You sure? This guy feels different than others..." Miu finally stopped resisting and allowed Kaneki and Kai to carry her onto her bed.

"Hope you feel better." The boy said, making the others slightly pissed off from his behavior. "Farewell then." He jumped outside Miu's window, which left the three friends in shock. "Until we meet again!" And then he was gone.

"What's this...?" Kai noticed something shiny on the ground just a few inches away from them and picked it up. His orange eyes suddenly became wide. "Guys... I think you'd wanna see this..." He showed to rectangular object towards the group. It was a Suiren High School student ID. In the picture section, it showed the unknown boy's face. Golden eyes and purple hair. Next to it read "Sei Kodochi". Under the name area showed other pieces of information, such as his gender and age.

"Wait... He's 15!? Guys, he's about our age!" Miu said in surprise. "Whoa, that's... shocking."

"I know right?" Kai replied with a smile.

"Anyway," Kaneki turned to face Miu with his sky-blue eyes. "Don't worry, okay Miu? We'll solve this together, as a group." Miu relaxed, her brown eyes softening as she looked at Kaneki and Kai. The two boys smiled gently and stood up. "Hurry up and change, the breakfast might get cold." Kaneki finally said, returning to his normal form.

"NOOO! MY SAUSAGE!" Kai cried, feeling defeated.

"You ate about half the plate, you fatty." Kaneki replied.

"HEY!" Kai started chasing Kaneki ot of Miu's room and towards the stairs. Miu smiled as she saw them run out of her room, staring outside the window and sinking her mind into deep thoughts. _Sei Kodochi... how familiar._ Miu finally got off the bed and started to change.


End file.
